01 · the cities
Kansas City
Kansas City is barbecue (burnt ends are a local invention), jazz (the 18th and Vine district fed Charlie Parker and Count Basie), and fountains everywhere you turn. The city straddles two states and doesn't make a big deal out of it. The Plaza shopping district looks like Seville, which is delightfully odd for the Midwest. Friendly here means genuinely friendly.
full dispatch→Durham
Durham is Duke University, old tobacco warehouses turned into incredible restaurants and breweries (the American Tobacco Campus is a model for adaptive reuse), and a food scene that punches way above its size (multiple James Beard winners). Bull City pride runs deep. The Eno River and Duke Gardens are right in town. It's more diverse, weirder, and more interesting than outsiders expect.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,502/mo
$1,684/mo
$182/mo more than Kansas City (11%)
Median home price
Median home price
$326k
$415k
$89k more than Kansas City
State income tax
State income tax
4.7%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$6,440/mo
$6,274/mo
Kansas City has $166/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
170 days
178 days
8 more than Kansas City
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
8 days
19 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
26 days
5 days
days below 20°F per year
Durham has 11 more days above 95°F each year than Kansas City. Kansas City drops below 20°F on 21 more days per year than Durham.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
56 / 100
50 / 100
6.0 pts behind Kansas City
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
43 routes
39 routes
4 fewer direct routes than Kansas City
Metro size
Metro size
2.2M metro
609k metro
Kansas City has 2.4x more events per month than Durham.
the verdict
6
Kansas City
categories won
3
Durham
categories won
Kansas City wins on money and lifestyle. Durham has the edge on weather.
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