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→St. Louis
St. Louis has the Arch (catenary curve and engineering marvel), Forest Park (bigger than Central Park and home to a free zoo, art museum, and history museum), and toasted ravioli, which was invented here. The Cardinals are a religion, the Hill neighborhood is wall-to-wall Italian red sauce, and Imo's makes pizza with Provel cheese that locals defend furiously. The skyline at sunset is underrated.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,473/mo
$1,411/mo
$62/mo less than Pittsburgh (4%)
Median home price
Median home price
$223k
$277k
$54k more than Pittsburgh
State income tax
State income tax
3.1%
4.7%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$6,605/mo
$6,531/mo
Pittsburgh has $74/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
174 days
13 more than Pittsburgh
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
5 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
28 days
22 days
days below 20°F per year
St. Louis has 5 more days above 95°F each year than Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh drops below 20°F on 6 more days per year than St. Louis.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
68 / 100
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
37 routes
60 routes
23 more direct routes than Pittsburgh
Metro size
Metro size
2.4M metro
2.8M metro
Pittsburgh and St. Louis have similar event volume.
the verdict
4
Pittsburgh
categories won
4
St. Louis
categories won
Pittsburgh wins on money, St. Louis wins on weather and lifestyle. Dead even.
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