01 · the cities
Austin
Austin runs on breakfast tacos, live music, and a stubborn streak of weirdness that the tech boom hasn't fully smoothed over. The east side reinvents itself every few years and still has the vinyl shops, vintage western wear, and honky-tonks to prove it. Barton Springs holds 68°F year-round and locals plan their summers around it. There's a swimming hole, a taco truck, or a guitar within five blocks of wherever you're standing.
full dispatch→Kansas City
Kansas City is barbecue (burnt ends are a local invention), jazz (the 18th and Vine district fed Charlie Parker and Count Basie), and fountains everywhere you turn. The city straddles two states and doesn't make a big deal out of it. The Plaza shopping district looks like Seville, which is delightfully odd for the Midwest. Friendly here means genuinely friendly.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,583/mo
$1,502/mo
$81/mo less than Austin (5%)
Median home price
Median home price
$433k
$326k
$107k less than Austin
State income tax
State income tax
0%
4.7%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$6,750/mo
$6,440/mo
Austin has $310/mo more gross after rent at $100k
Gross left after rent reflects state income tax but not federal, based on $100k salary. Enter your salary to find your ideal city.
03 · the weather
Pleasant days/yr
Pleasant days/yr
170 days
170 days
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
53 days
8 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
1 days
26 days
days below 20°F per year
Austin has 45 more days above 95°F each year than Kansas City. Kansas City drops below 20°F on 25 more days per year than Austin.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
56 / 100
56 / 100
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
42 routes
43 routes
Metro size
Metro size
2.5M metro
2.2M metro
Austin has 1.4x more events per month than Kansas City.
the verdict
3
Austin
categories won
3
Kansas City
categories won
Austin and Kansas City split the categories evenly.
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