$100k salary, packing up from Durham

change
Cleveland, OH cityscape

swapping out of durham

Cleveland

oh · metro 2.2M

photo: Stephen Leonardi / pexels

a dispatch from

cleveland

OH

41.50°N

81.69°W

Cleveland is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the West Side Market's 100+ years of pierogies and bratwurst, and Lake Erie sunsets that put the coastal hype to shame. The Cuyahoga River caught fire so many times it inspired the Clean Water Act. The Cleveland Orchestra is consistently ranked among the world's best. Summers on the lake are gorgeous, and the food scene is having a real moment.

metro2.2M

in our guides

#8

of 10

Best affordable cities to retire

read the guide
#10

of 10

Biggest cities you can actually afford

read the guide
#9

of 10

Best cities to leave New York for

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best cities to live in the Midwest

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best affordable coastal cities

read the guide
#9

of 10

Best cities to leave Boston for

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best affordable coastal cities for families

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities to leave DC for

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best cities in the Great Lakes region

read the guide
#10

of 10

Best cities for a $60k salary

read the guide
#10

of 10

Affordable alternatives to Boise

read the guide

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$308

under Durham, every month

Cleveland gives you room Durham doesn't. Same gross salary, lower monthly cost of living.
landable, recorded on the cleveland entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,419/mo

16% cheaper than Durham(vs $1,684/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$43/mo less in state tax than Durham

vs 4.5% in Durham

03after rent

$6,582/mo

$308 more than Durham

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

04a house here

$252k

39% cheaper than Durham

vs $415k in Durham

05metro size

2.2M

vs 609k in Durham

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in cleveland.

Durham gets 178 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. Winter has bite, though: 27 days drop below 20° vs Durham's 5.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 2.5× more on the calendar than Durham.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

26% higher than Durham

vs 50/100 in Durham

Closest outdoor draw: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 29.7 mi.

·walk score®

96/100

20% higher than Durham

vs 80/100 in Durham

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

56

44% more than Durham

vs 39 nonstops in Durham

04 · see also

neighbors of cleveland on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

st. louis

better park access

turn the page

see also

kansas city

better weather

turn the page

see also

pittsburgh

$23/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare cleveland with:

St. LouisKansas CityPittsburgh