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→Rochester
Rochester is the city that Kodak and Xerox built, with a quiet college-town soul (UofR, RIT, Eastman School of Music). The Garbage Plate (cheeseburger, mac salad, home fries, hot sauce, on one plate) is the closest thing to a citywide handshake. Frederick Douglass made his home here, and the Susan B. Anthony House is downtown. The Finger Lakes wine country is right next door.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,767/mo
$1,534/mo
$1,233/mo less than Bridgeport (80%)
Median home price
Median home price
$768k
$273k
$494k less than Bridgeport
State income tax
State income tax
5.5%
5.9%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$5,108/mo
$6,312/mo
Rochester has $1,204/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
147 days
25 fewer than Bridgeport
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
15 days
48 days
days below 20°F per year
Rochester drops below 20°F on 33 more days per year than Bridgeport.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
64 / 100
58 / 100
6.0 pts behind Bridgeport
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
1 routes
18 routes
17 more direct routes than Bridgeport
Metro size
Metro size
952k metro
1.1M metro
Bridgeport has 4.3x fewer events per month than Rochester.
the verdict
4
Bridgeport
categories won
4
Rochester
categories won
Bridgeport wins on weather, Rochester wins on money. Dead even.
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