New Jersey 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.
New Jersey comes out ahead on 4 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.
MeasureNew JerseySouth Dakota
Home price$584,681$325,618
Rent paid$1,719$941
Cost of living115.191.9
Income$104,294$76,881
Property tax1.88%1.00%
Income tax10.75%0.00%
Sales tax6.60%6.11%
Electric bill$159$138
Temperature54.1°F47.4°F
Snowfall17.4 in29.7 in
Precipitation38.7 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher11.814.2
Bachelor's or higher44.5%34.2%
Crime rate218362
Commute31.9 min18.5 min
Unemployment4.5%2.0%
Population change+2.8%+5.5%
Wildfire risk50.675.5
Flood risk95.754.5
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.