Montana vs Washington
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 11 of them and Washington on 4, 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.
MeasureMontanaWashington
Home price$476,115$603,303
Rent paid$1,074$1,712
Cost of living95.5114.1
Income$75,340$99,389
Property tax0.61%0.75%
Income tax5.65%0.00%
Sales tax0.00%9.57%
Electric bill$114$130
Temperature44.2°F50°F
Snowfall54.5 in5.4 in
Precipitation23.9 in56.5 in
Sunshine3.96 kWh/m²3.56 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.218.3
Bachelor's or higher36.3%41.0%
Crime rate424326
Commute19.5 min27.2 min
Unemployment3.3%5.2%
Population change+5.6%+3.8%
Wildfire risk88.574.2
Flood risk61.091.4
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.