Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
Massachusetts comes out ahead on 4 of them and Pennsylvania on 11, but that tally is not a recommendation: it weighs a difference in class size the same as a difference in house price. Read the rows that matter to you.
MeasureMassachusettsPennsylvania
Home price$672,867$294,099
Rent paid$1,788$1,224
Cost of living141.297.2
Income$104,828$77,545
Property tax1.00%1.26%
Income tax9.00%3.07%
Sales tax6.25%6.34%
Electric bill$183$173
Temperature50.1°F52°F
Snowfall29.5 in21.7 in
Precipitation42.1 in39.6 in
Sunshine3.82 kWh/m²3.90 kWh/m²
Students per teacher12.013.5
Bachelor's or higher48.3%36.4%
Crime rate315246
Commute30.6 min27.1 min
Unemployment4.4%4.1%
Population change+1.7%+0.4%
Wildfire risk51.038.7
Flood risk94.792.3
Bold marks the better figure where a measure has a better direction. Weather, snowfall and rainfall are shown plain, because warmer is not better — it is a preference.