01 · the cities
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 88 cities pretending to be one, connected by freeways and a shared love of really good tacos. Every neighborhood is its own scene: surfers in Venice, the Korean grandmas of K-town, mountains rising behind Pasadena, Persian rugs in Westwood. The light at golden hour is so good it makes Instagram filters jealous. Roll the windows down at golden hour, put on a playlist, and let the city stretch out.
full dispatch→Riverside
Riverside is where the navel orange got its start in America, with the parent tree from 1873 still alive and producing fruit on a downtown corner. The Mission Inn is a wildly ornate Spanish Revival hotel that hosts the country's biggest holiday lights festival. Riverside's downtown is genuinely walkable, with citrus groves still scattered through the foothills. Summers are dry and bright, with the foothills cooling the evenings.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,899/mo
$2,493/mo
$406/mo less than Los Angeles (16%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.0M
$595k
$434k less than Los Angeles
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
9.3%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,659/mo
$5,065/mo
Riverside has $406/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
283 days
249 days
34 fewer than Los Angeles
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
47 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Riverside has 28 more days above 95°F each year than Los Angeles.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
67 / 100
69 / 100
2.0 pts ahead of Los Angeles
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
150 routes
14 routes
136 fewer direct routes than Los Angeles
Metro size
Metro size
12.8M metro
4.7M metro
Los Angeles has 58.0x more events per month than Riverside.
the verdict
3
Los Angeles
categories won
4
Riverside
categories won
Riverside wins on money. Los Angeles has the edge on weather.
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