$100k salary, packing up from Santa Maria
changea dispatch from
durham
NC
35.99°N
78.90°W
Durham is Duke University, old tobacco warehouses turned into incredible restaurants and breweries (the American Tobacco Campus is a model for adaptive reuse), and a food scene that punches way above its size (multiple James Beard winners). Bull City pride runs deep. The Eno River and Duke Gardens are right in town. It's more diverse, weirder, and more interesting than outsiders expect.
the verdict
under Santa Maria, every month
Durham is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
a quick ledger.
$1,684/mo
50% cheaper than Santa Maria(vs $3,352/mo)
4.5%
$400/mo less in state tax than Santa Maria
vs 9.3% in Santa Maria
$6,274/mo
$2,068 more than Santa Maria
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$415k
61% cheaper than Santa Maria
vs $1059k in Santa Maria
609k
vs 441k in Santa Maria
field notes, weather & such.
178
pleasant days a year, in durham.
Santa Maria actually gets more: 337 pleasant days a year.
50/100
15% lower than Santa Maria
vs 59/100 in Santa Maria
Closest outdoor draw: William B. Umstead State Park, 10.9 mi.
80/100
8% lower than Santa Maria
vs 87/100 in Santa Maria
39
1850% more than Santa Maria
vs 2 nonstops in Santa Maria
cities that play in durham's register:
compare durham with:
