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→Houston
Houston has no zoning laws (you'll see a taco truck next to a mansion next to a strip mall), the most diverse food scene in America by most rankings, and NASA's mission control out on the edge of town. The Texas Medical Center is the largest in the world. It's sprawling and culturally enormous, with a Vietnamese pho district, Nigerian jollof spots, and a Tex-Mex scene that takes itself seriously. Bigger than you think, in every direction.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$1,610/mo
$1,385/mo less than Oxnard (86%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$311k
$612k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,723/mo
Houston has $2,160/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
171 days
171 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
54 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
1 days
days below 20°F per year
Houston has 54 more days above 95°F each year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
55 / 100
19.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
176 routes
176 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
7.5M metro
Oxnard has 8.8x fewer events per month than Houston.
the verdict
3
Oxnard
categories won
5
Houston
categories won
Houston wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
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