Michigan vs South Dakota
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 5 of them and South Dakota on 10, 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.
MeasureMichiganSouth Dakota
Home price$269,972$325,618
Rent paid$1,117$941
Cost of living90.191.9
Income$72,389$76,881
Property tax1.19%1.00%
Income tax4.25%0.00%
Sales tax6.00%6.11%
Electric bill$131$138
Temperature48.9°F47.4°F
Snowfall47.5 in29.7 in
Precipitation30.4 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.80 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher16.914.2
Bachelor's or higher33.3%34.2%
Crime rate434362
Commute24.3 min18.5 min
Unemployment5.0%2.0%
Population change+0.5%+5.5%
Wildfire risk39.875.5
Flood risk84.654.5
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.