$100k salary, packing up from Santa Maria

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

if you left santa maria

Asheville

nc · metro 417k

a dispatch from

asheville

NC

35.58°N

82.55°W

Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.

metro417k

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$2,014

less monthly outlay than Santa Maria

Asheville sits well below Santa Maria on cost. Same paycheck, a noticeably lighter month.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

48% cheaper than Santa Maria(vs $3,352/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$400/mo less in state tax than Santa Maria

vs 9.3% in Santa Maria

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$2,014 more than Santa Maria

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$430k

59% cheaper than Santa Maria

vs $1059k in Santa Maria

05metro size

417k

vs 441k in Santa Maria

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Santa Maria has the edge here, logging 337 pleasant days a year.

·outdoorscore

66/100

12% higher than Santa Maria

vs 59/100 in Santa Maria

Closest outdoor draw: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 74.8 mi.

·walk score®

63/100

28% lower than Santa Maria

vs 87/100 in Santa Maria

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

300% more than Santa Maria

vs 2 nonstops in Santa Maria

04 · see also

if asheville appeals, also worth a look:

compare asheville with: