01 · the cities
Charleston
Charleston is pastel rowhouses, cobblestone streets, the smell of pluff mud at low tide, and shrimp and grits that should be illegal everywhere else. The historic district is a working postcard, the food scene punches way above its size, and the porches are made for sitting. Spoleto Festival every spring brings world-class arts. It's small, dense, and absurdly photogenic.
full dispatch→Eugene
Eugene is Track Town USA (Hayward Field is the spiritual home of American distance running), the University of Oregon, and a hippie-academic-outdoorsy culture that's been here since the '60s and isn't going anywhere. The Willamette and McKenzie rivers meet just outside town. Saturday Market downtown has been running for over 50 years. Coffee and craft beer are taken seriously. Misty in winter, glorious in summer.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,987/mo
$1,799/mo
$188/mo less than Charleston (10%)
Median home price
Median home price
$432k
$456k
$24k more than Charleston
State income tax
State income tax
6.5%
8.8%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$5,805/mo
$5,805/mo
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
212 days
206 days
6 fewer than Charleston
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
10 days
2 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
1 days
days below 20°F per year
Charleston has 8 more days above 95°F each year than Eugene.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
67 / 100
75 / 100
8.0 pts ahead of Charleston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
20 routes
9 routes
11 fewer direct routes than Charleston
Metro size
Metro size
849k metro
381k metro
Charleston has 1.5x more events per month than Eugene.
the verdict
4
Charleston
categories won
3
Eugene
categories won
Charleston leads on money and wins overall.
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