$100k salary, packing up from Austin
changea dispatch from
san jose
CA
37.34°N
121.89°W
San Jose is Silicon Valley's anchor city, much bigger than San Francisco by population, and culturally underrated because everyone drives through it on the way somewhere else. The Vietnamese food scene (especially in Little Saigon) is one of the best in the country. The weather is impossibly mild, the Santa Cruz Mountains rise to the west, and the tech money funds a genuinely excellent restaurant scene.
the verdict
the monthly premium over Austin
A real premium for San Jose. Worth it only if the city itself is the whole point.
a quick ledger.
$3,470/mo
119% more expensive than Austin(vs $1,583/mo)
9.3%
$775/mo more in state tax than Austin
vs 0% in Austin
$4,088/mo
$2,662 less than Austin
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$1796k
314% more expensive than Austin
vs $433k in Austin
1.9M
vs 2.5M in Austin
field notes, weather & such.
283
pleasant days a year, in san jose.
Austin only manages 170 of those.
Lighter on events: Austin packs 1.9× more into a month.
70/100
25% higher than Austin
vs 56/100 in Austin
Closest outdoor draw: Pinnacles National Park, 69.2 mi.
95/100
4% lower than Austin
vs 99/100 in Austin
29
31% fewer than Austin
vs 42 nonstops in Austin
same energy as san jose, different zip code:
compare san jose with:
