Montana vs 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.
Montana comes out ahead on 9 of them and Virginia on 6, 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.
MeasureMontanaVirginia
Home price$476,115$419,920
Rent paid$1,074$1,599
Cost of living95.5100.8
Income$75,340$92,090
Property tax0.61%0.78%
Income tax5.65%5.75%
Sales tax0.00%5.77%
Electric bill$114$173
Temperature44.2°F57.6°F
Snowfall54.5 in11.3 in
Precipitation23.9 in40.8 in
Sunshine3.96 kWh/m²4.24 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.214.0
Bachelor's or higher36.3%43.3%
Crime rate424218
Commute19.5 min28.3 min
Unemployment3.3%3.7%
Population change+5.6%+2.9%
Wildfire risk88.533.1
Flood risk61.067.2
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.