North Dakota 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.
North Dakota comes out ahead on 11 of them and South Dakota 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.
MeasureNorth DakotaSouth Dakota
Home price$293,556$325,618
Rent paid$931$941
Cost of living91.491.9
Income$77,871$76,881
Property tax0.92%1.00%
Income tax2.50%0.00%
Sales tax7.09%6.11%
Electric bill$133$138
Temperature42.4°F47.4°F
Snowfall23.0 in29.7 in
Precipitation20.1 in23.7 in
Sunshine3.76 kWh/m²4.08 kWh/m²
Students per teacher11.714.2
Bachelor's or higher34.0%34.2%
Crime rate254362
Commute17.5 min18.5 min
Unemployment2.3%2.0%
Population change+2.6%+5.5%
Wildfire risk65.175.5
Flood risk49.254.5
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.