01 · the cities
Boston
Boston is brick sidewalks, dive bars older than most states, and an accent that turns 'park the car' into a love language. The city is densely packed with colleges (Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, plus 30 more), which keeps it perpetually 22 years old in spirit. The Freedom Trail literally paints a red line through 400 years of American history. Dunkin' is not a chain here, it's a way of life.
full dispatch→Sarasota
Sarasota is the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus (the museum is wild, and yes, there's a vintage clown college history), and Siesta Key's beach is regularly named the best in America for its pure quartz sand. The cultural scene is heavy for a Florida city of its size (theater, opera, art museum). Gulf sunsets here are the brochure shot. The food scene has caught up to the city's wealth and the retirees' time.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,145/mo
$2,121/mo
$1,024/mo less than Boston (48%)
Median home price
Median home price
$771k
$423k
$348k less than Boston
State income tax
State income tax
5.0%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,772/mo
$6,212/mo
Sarasota has $1,440/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
160 days
249 days
89 more than Boston
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
33 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Boston drops below 20°F on 33 more days per year than Sarasota.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
59 / 100
12.0 pts behind Boston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
103 routes
6 routes
97 fewer direct routes than Boston
Metro size
Metro size
4.9M metro
262k metro
Boston has 56.0x more events per month than Sarasota.
the verdict
2
Boston
categories won
6
Sarasota
categories won
Sarasota wins on money and weather. Boston has the edge on lifestyle.
run your numbers
How far does your Boston salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works