01 · the cities
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the largest city in Connecticut, sitting on Long Island Sound with a working harbor and a real waterfront. P.T. Barnum lived here and the city's museum still pays tribute to his weird genius. It's a quick train ride to New York, with much cheaper housing and proper New England summers. The food scene punches above its weight, with old-school Portuguese and Brazilian spots packed every weekend.
full dispatch→Lancaster
Lancaster is the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country, with horse-drawn buggies on rural roads and the Central Market (the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the country, since the 1730s). The food scene is sneaky-strong, the surrounding farmland is gorgeous, and the city's downtown has come back nicely. Whoopie pies, shoofly pies, and sticky buns are mandatory.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,767/mo
$1,517/mo
$1,250/mo less than Bridgeport (82%)
Median home price
Median home price
$768k
$384k
$384k less than Bridgeport
State income tax
State income tax
5.5%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$5,108/mo
$6,561/mo
Lancaster has $1,453/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
172 days
158 days
14 fewer than Bridgeport
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
3 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
15 days
25 days
days below 20°F per year
Lancaster drops below 20°F on 10 more days per year than Bridgeport.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
64 / 100
63 / 100
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
1 routes
1 routes
Metro size
Metro size
952k metro
559k metro
Bridgeport has 2.1x fewer events per month than Lancaster.
the verdict
2
Bridgeport
categories won
4
Lancaster
categories won
Lancaster wins on money. Bridgeport has the edge on weather.
run your numbers
How far does your Bridgeport 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