$100k salary, packing up from Seattle
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 Seattle
San Jose costs noticeably more than Seattle. You'd be paying for San Jose itself, not for breathing room around it.
a quick ledger.
$3,470/mo
58% more expensive than Seattle(vs $2,193/mo)
9.3%
$775/mo more in state tax than Seattle
vs 0% in Seattle
$4,088/mo
$2,052 less than Seattle
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$1796k
127% more expensive than Seattle
vs $791k in Seattle
1.9M
vs 4.0M in Seattle
field notes, weather & such.
283
pleasant days a year, in san jose.
Seattle only manages 182 of those.
But the calendar thins out: Seattle stays 4.1× busier.
70/100
25% lower than Seattle
vs 93/100 in Seattle
Closest outdoor draw: Pinnacles National Park, 69.2 mi.
95/100
3% lower than Seattle
vs 98/100 in Seattle
29
68% fewer than Seattle
vs 90 nonstops in Seattle
same energy as san jose, different zip code:
compare san jose with:
