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→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
$2,995/mo
$1,684/mo
$1,311/mo less than Oxnard (78%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$415k
$508k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,274/mo
Durham has $1,711/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
178 days
164 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
19 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
5 days
days below 20°F per year
Durham has 19 more days above 95°F each year than Oxnard. Durham drops below 20°F on 5 more days per year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
50 / 100
24.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
39 routes
39 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
609k metro
Oxnard has 1.5x fewer events per month than Durham.
the verdict
4
Oxnard
categories won
5
Durham
categories won
Durham 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