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→Chicago
Chicago is deep-dish for tourists, thin-crust tavern style for locals, and a hot dog that absolutely will not have ketchup on it. The L rumbles overhead, the lakefront stretches for 18 unbroken miles of beach and trail, and the architecture boat tour is the single best $50 you'll spend. Summer in Chicago might be the best summer in America. The improv comedy gene pool is unmatched.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$2,170/mo
$825/mo less than Oxnard (38%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$365k
$558k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$5,751/mo
Chicago has $1,188/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
153 days
189 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
38 days
days below 20°F per year
Chicago drops below 20°F on 38 more days per year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
70 / 100
4.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
217 routes
217 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
9.3M metro
Oxnard has 54.0x fewer events per month than Chicago.
the verdict
3
Oxnard
categories won
5
Chicago
categories won
Chicago wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
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