50-State Comparison

Median Housing Value
1st ? California, $391,102
37th ? Tennessee, 110,198
51st ? Arkansas, $79,006

Median Family Income
1st ? New Jersey, $73,973
40th ? Tennessee, $47,530
51st ? Mississippi, $39,319

State, Local Tax Burden
1st ? Maine, 13 percent
48th ? Tennessee, 8.4 percent
51st ? Alaska, 6.4 percent

State, Local Govt. Employees
Per 10,000 Residents
1st ? Wyoming, 861
33rd ? Tennessee, 539
51st ? Nevada, 413

Average State, Local
Government Pay
1st ? California, $58,400
41st ? Tennessee, $35,378
51st ? Mississippi, $31,567

Eligible Voters Who
Voted in 2004
1st ? Minnesota, 73.3 percent
36th ? Tennessee, 54 percent
51st ? Hawaii, 44.5 percent

Debt Per Capital
1st ? Alaska, $8,709
50th ? Tennessee, $608

Annual Auto Insurance
1st ? New Jersey, $1,188
41st ? Tennessee, $650
51st ? North Dakota, $536

School Expenditures
Per Pupil
1st ? D.C., $15,073
44th ? Tennessee, $6,856
51st ? Utah, $5,245
High School
Graduation Rate
1st ? New Jersey, 86.3 percent
47th ? Tennessee, 57.5 percent
51st ? S. Carolina, 50.7 percent

Average ACT Score
1st ? Connecticut, 22.8
35th ? Tennessee, 20.5
51st ? D.C., 18.0

Student-Teacher Ratio
1st ? Vermont, 10.9
31st ? Tennessee, 15.6
51st ? Utah, 22.6

Residential Electricity
Cost Per kWh
1st ? Hawaii, 18.1 cents
46th ? Tennessee, 6.9 cents
50th ? Idaho, Ken., 6.1 cents

Fatal Crashes Per Billion
Miles of Travel
1st ? Mississippi, 22.8
14th ? Tennessee, 18.2
50th ? Connecticut, 9.2

Violent Crime Per
100,000 People
1st ? D.C., 1,608
5th ? Tennessee, 688
51st ? North Dakota, 78

Percent of Births
to Unmarried Mothers
1st ? D.C., 55.5 percent
14th ? Tennessee, 38.2 percent
51st ? Utah, 17.5 percent

Infant Mortality Rate
Per 1,000 Births
1st ? D.C., 10.3 percent
5th ? Tennessee, 8.8 percent
51st ? Vermont, 3.8 percent