01 · the cities
Riverside
Riverside is where the navel orange got its start in America, with the parent tree from 1873 still alive and producing fruit on a downtown corner. The Mission Inn is a wildly ornate Spanish Revival hotel that hosts the country's biggest holiday lights festival. Riverside's downtown is genuinely walkable, with citrus groves still scattered through the foothills. Summers are dry and bright, with the foothills cooling the evenings.
full dispatch→Melbourne
Palm Bay is part of the Space Coast, which means you can watch SpaceX and NASA rocket launches from the backyard on a clear day. The Indian River Lagoon is right there for fishing, kayaking, and manatee spotting. It's quieter and more affordable than the bigger Florida metros, with quick access to Cocoa Beach and Kennedy Space Center. Suburban in a Florida way.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,493/mo
$1,895/mo
$598/mo less than Riverside (32%)
Median home price
Median home price
$595k
$351k
$244k less than Riverside
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$5,065/mo
$6,438/mo
Melbourne has $1,373/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
249 days
254 days
5 more than Riverside
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
47 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Riverside has 47 more days above 95°F each year than Melbourne.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
55 / 100
14.0 pts behind Riverside
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
14 routes
2 routes
12 fewer direct routes than Riverside
Metro size
Metro size
4.7M metro
644k metro
the verdict
2
Riverside
categories won
6
Melbourne
categories won
Melbourne wins on money and weather. Riverside has the edge on lifestyle.
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