Montana 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.
Montana comes out ahead on 3 of them and South Dakota 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.
MeasureMontanaSouth Dakota
Home price$476,115$325,618
Rent paid$1,074$941
Cost of living95.591.9
Income$75,340$76,881
Property tax0.61%1.00%
Income tax5.65%0.00%
Sales tax0.00%6.11%
Electric bill$114$138
Temperature44.2°F47.4°F
Snowfall54.5 in29.7 in
Precipitation23.9 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.96 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.214.2
Bachelor's or higher36.3%34.2%
Crime rate424362
Commute19.5 min18.5 min
Unemployment3.3%2.0%
Population change+5.6%+5.5%
Wildfire risk88.575.5
Flood risk61.054.5
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.