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→Sarasota
Sarasota is the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus (the museum is wild, and yes, there's a vintage clown college history), and Siesta Key's beach is regularly named the best in America for its pure quartz sand. The cultural scene is heavy for a Florida city of its size (theater, opera, art museum). Gulf sunsets here are the brochure shot. The food scene has caught up to the city's wealth and the retirees' time.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,995/mo
$2,121/mo
$874/mo less than Oxnard (41%)
Median home price
Median home price
$923k
$423k
$500k less than Oxnard
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,563/mo
$6,212/mo
Sarasota has $1,649/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
249 days
93 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
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Oxnard edges ahead on pleasant days, but both cities have comparable comfort overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
74 / 100
59 / 100
15.0 pts behind Oxnard
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
0 routes
6 routes
6 more direct routes than Oxnard
Metro size
Metro size
830k metro
262k metro
Oxnard has 8.0x more events per month than Sarasota.
the verdict
2
Oxnard
categories won
5
Sarasota
categories won
Sarasota wins on money. Oxnard has the edge on weather.
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