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→Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids has won Beer City USA multiple times, hosts ArtPrize (one of the world's largest open art competitions every fall), and built itself on furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller). The Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park is a sleeper world-class attraction. Downtown is walkable, the surrounding farmland is gorgeous in autumn, and Lake Michigan beaches are 30 minutes west. Quietly excellent.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$1,620/mo
$1,375/mo less than Oxnard (85%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$353k
$570k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.3%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,359/mo
Grand Rapids has $1,796/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
151 days
191 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
50 days
days below 20°F per year
Grand Rapids drops below 20°F on 50 more days per year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
56 / 100
18.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
20 routes
20 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
1.2M metro
Oxnard has 2.9x fewer events per month than Grand Rapids.
the verdict
3
Oxnard
categories won
5
Grand Rapids
categories won
Grand Rapids wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
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