Michigan vs New Jersey
Twenty measures that tend to decide a move, side by side. Every figure is the same one the map shows, from the same source.
Michigan comes out ahead on 10 of them and New Jersey on 5, 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.
MeasureMichiganNew Jersey
Home price$269,972$584,681
Rent paid$1,117$1,719
Cost of living90.1115.1
Income$72,389$104,294
Property tax1.19%1.88%
Income tax4.25%10.75%
Sales tax6.00%6.60%
Electric bill$131$159
Temperature48.9°F54.1°F
Snowfall47.5 in17.4 in
Precipitation30.4 in38.7 in
Sunshine3.80 kWh/m²3.98 kWh/m²
Students per teacher16.911.8
Bachelor's or higher33.3%44.5%
Crime rate434218
Commute24.3 min31.9 min
Unemployment5.0%4.5%
Population change+0.5%+2.8%
Wildfire risk39.850.6
Flood risk84.695.7
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.