South Dakota 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.
South Dakota comes out ahead on 8 of them and West Virginia on 7, 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.
MeasureSouth DakotaWest Virginia
Home price$325,618$182,704
Rent paid$941$868
Cost of living91.988.3
Income$76,881$60,798
Property tax1.00%0.51%
Income tax0.00%4.82%
Sales tax6.11%6.60%
Electric bill$138$167
Temperature47.4°F53.9°F
Snowfall29.7 in22.9 in
Precipitation23.7 in44.0 in
Sunshine4.08 kWh/m²3.96 kWh/m²
Students per teacher14.213.7
Bachelor's or higher34.2%24.4%
Crime rate362249
Commute18.5 min26.5 min
Unemployment2.0%4.2%
Population change+5.5%-1.5%
Wildfire risk75.541.2
Flood risk54.579.2
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.