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→Lakeland
Lakeland has the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world, on the Florida Southern College campus (designed in the 1940s, all skylights and copper). The city sits between Tampa and Orlando, with actual swans patrolling its namesake downtown lake (the city even has a swan management program). Publix is headquartered here, which Floridians treat as a point of pride.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$1,834/mo
$1,161/mo less than Oxnard (63%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$301k
$622k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,499/mo
Lakeland has $1,936/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
206 days
136 fewer than Oxnard
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
13 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Lakeland has 13 more days above 95°F each year than Oxnard.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
48 / 100
26.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
68 routes
68 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
818k metro
Oxnard has 2.0x more events per month than Lakeland.
the verdict
3
Oxnard
categories won
5
Lakeland
categories won
Lakeland wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
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