01 · the cities
Oxnard
Oxnard is California's strawberry capital, where the fields literally run up to the beach. Channel Islands Harbor is a quiet alternative to the busier Ventura and Santa Barbara, with great seafood and a chill Mexican food scene. The weather is the perfect 65-and-overcast that locals call 'June gloom' for most of summer. The Channel Islands themselves are a ferry ride away.
full dispatch→Charlotte
Charlotte is banking towers (it's the second-biggest banking center in the country after NYC) wrapped in pine trees and southern hospitality. Uptown is the downtown (Charlotteans correct you on this immediately), the NASCAR Hall of Fame anchors a real motorsport scene, and the Whitewater Center lets you raft inside the city limits. Growth is fast, breweries are everywhere, and barbecue gets the Carolina vinegar treatment.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$1,728/mo
$1,267/mo less than Oxnard (73%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$391k
$532k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,230/mo
Charlotte has $1,667/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
342 days
200 days
142 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
7 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
3 days
days below 20°F per year
Charlotte has 7 more days above 95°F each year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
51 / 100
23.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
141 routes
141 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
2.8M metro
Oxnard has 4.7x fewer events per month than Charlotte.
the verdict
3
Oxnard
categories won
5
Charlotte
categories won
Charlotte wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
run your numbers
How far does your Oxnard salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works