Massachusetts vs West Virginia
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 3 of them and West Virginia on 12, 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.
MeasureMassachusettsWest Virginia
Home price$672,867$182,704
Rent paid$1,788$868
Cost of living141.288.3
Income$104,828$60,798
Property tax1.00%0.51%
Income tax9.00%4.82%
Sales tax6.25%6.60%
Electric bill$183$167
Temperature50.1°F53.9°F
Snowfall29.5 in22.9 in
Precipitation42.1 in44.0 in
Sunshine3.82 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher12.013.7
Bachelor's or higher48.3%24.4%
Crime rate315249
Commute30.6 min26.5 min
Unemployment4.4%4.2%
Population change+1.7%-1.5%
Wildfire risk51.041.2
Flood risk94.779.2
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.