01 · the cities
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice (446, and locals will tell you the exact number), three rivers crashing together downtown, and a sandwich tradition where the fries go inside. The mills are long gone but the neighborhoods they built (Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip) still feed you like a great aunt. Carnegie Mellon and UPMC turned the old industrial bones into a robotics and medical research scene. The skyline reveal coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel is the cheapest awe in America.
full dispatch→Buffalo
Buffalo invented the wing (Anchor Bar, 1964, midnight, blue cheese, celery, not negotiable) and that should tell you most of what you need to know about the city's spirit. The Bills Mafia jumps through tables in subzero parking lots. Niagara Falls is 20 minutes away. The architecture (Sullivan, Wright, Olmsted parks) is genuinely world-class. The snow is part of the local mythology and the locals wear it proudly.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,473/mo
$1,374/mo
$99/mo less than Pittsburgh (7%)
Median home price
Median home price
$223k
$280k
$57k more than Pittsburgh
State income tax
State income tax
3.1%
5.9%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$6,605/mo
$6,472/mo
Pittsburgh has $133/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
161 days
152 days
9 fewer than Pittsburgh
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
28 days
42 days
days below 20°F per year
Buffalo drops below 20°F on 14 more days per year than Pittsburgh.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
66 / 100
3.0 pts behind Pittsburgh
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
37 routes
20 routes
17 fewer direct routes than Pittsburgh
Metro size
Metro size
2.4M metro
1.2M metro
Pittsburgh has 1.2x more events per month than Buffalo.
the verdict
7
Pittsburgh
categories won
1
Buffalo
categories won
Pittsburgh wins this comparison, leading on money and weather.
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