01 · the cities
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→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→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,799/mo
$1,987/mo
$188/mo more than Eugene (9%)
Median home price
Median home price
$456k
$432k
$24k less than Eugene
State income tax
State income tax
8.8%
6.5%
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
206 days
212 days
6 more than Eugene
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
10 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
1 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Charleston has 8 more days above 95°F each year than Eugene.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
75 / 100
67 / 100
8.0 pts behind Eugene
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
9 routes
20 routes
11 more direct routes than Eugene
Metro size
Metro size
381k metro
849k metro
Eugene has 1.5x fewer events per month than Charleston.
the verdict
3
Eugene
categories won
4
Charleston
categories won
Charleston leads on money and wins overall.
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