01 · the cities
Honolulu
Honolulu is Waikiki's high-rises pressed against turquoise water, Diamond Head crater glowing pink at dawn, and plate lunches that mix Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Portuguese into one perfect styrofoam container. Surf the south shore in summer, the north in winter. The North Shore is a 45-minute drive into a totally different world. Aloha here is a way of moving through the day.
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
$2,843/mo
$1,534/mo
$1,309/mo less than Honolulu (85%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.1M
$273k
$788k less than Honolulu
State income tax
State income tax
11.0%
5.9%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,574/mo
$6,312/mo
Rochester has $1,738/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
316 days
147 days
169 fewer than Honolulu
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
48 days
days below 20°F per year
Rochester drops below 20°F on 48 more days per year than Honolulu.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
55 / 100
58 / 100
3.0 pts ahead of Honolulu
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
51 routes
18 routes
33 fewer direct routes than Honolulu
Metro size
Metro size
989k metro
1.1M metro
Honolulu has 3.2x more events per month than Rochester.
the verdict
3
Honolulu
categories won
5
Rochester
categories won
Rochester wins on money. Honolulu has the edge on weather.
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