New Jersey vs West 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.
New Jersey comes out ahead on 5 of them and West Virginia on 9, 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 JerseyWest Virginia
Home price$584,681$182,704
Rent paid$1,719$868
Cost of living115.188.3
Income$104,294$60,798
Property tax1.88%0.51%
Income tax10.75%4.82%
Sales tax6.60%6.60%
Electric bill$159$167
Temperature54.1°F53.9°F
Snowfall17.4 in22.9 in
Precipitation38.7 in44.0 in
Sunshine3.98 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher11.813.7
Bachelor's or higher44.5%24.4%
Crime rate218249
Commute31.9 min26.5 min
Unemployment4.5%4.2%
Population change+2.8%-1.5%
Wildfire risk50.641.2
Flood risk95.779.2
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.