01 · the cities
Salinas
Salinas is the Salad Bowl of the World, where most of the country's leafy greens, strawberries, and broccoli come from. John Steinbeck grew up here and the National Steinbeck Center downtown is excellent. The Salinas Rodeo is a century-old summer event. The Monterey Bay is 20 minutes west, but the city itself is a working ag town with strong Mexican-American culture.
full dispatch→Rochester
Rochester is the city that Kodak and Xerox built, with a quiet college-town soul (UofR, RIT, Eastman School of Music). The Garbage Plate (cheeseburger, mac salad, home fries, hot sauce, on one plate) is the closest thing to a citywide handshake. Frederick Douglass made his home here, and the Susan B. Anthony House is downtown. The Finger Lakes wine country is right next door.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,813/mo
$1,534/mo
$1,279/mo less than Salinas (83%)
Median home price
Median home price
$862k
$273k
$588k less than Salinas
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.9%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,745/mo
$6,312/mo
Rochester has $1,567/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
335 days
147 days
188 fewer than Salinas
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
48 days
days below 20°F per year
Rochester drops below 20°F on 48 more days per year than Salinas.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
58 / 100
13.0 pts behind Salinas
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
6 routes
18 routes
12 more direct routes than Salinas
Metro size
Metro size
431k metro
1.1M metro
the verdict
3
Salinas
categories won
5
Rochester
categories won
Rochester wins on money. Salinas has the edge on weather.
run your numbers
How far does your Salinas salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works