landable/cost of living comparison
vs

01 · the cities

San Diego

San Diego is the city most Californians secretly wish they lived in: 70°F, sunny, and a beach for every mood. Fish tacos are religion, Balboa Park is bigger than Central Park and packed with museums, and the craft beer scene is one of the best in the country. The zoo is world-famous and the burritos are aggressively underrated. Even the freeways feel relaxed here.

full dispatch

Asheville

Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.

full dispatch

02 · the money

Median rent

$2,890/mo

$1,738/mo

$1,152/mo less than San Diego (66%)

Median home price

$1.0M

$430k

$580k less than San Diego

State income tax

9.3%

4.5%

Gross left after rent

$4,668/mo

$6,220/mo

Asheville has $1,552/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

332 days

201 days

131 fewer than San Diego

Extreme heat days

0 days

0 days

days above 95°F per year

Extreme cold days

0 days

13 days

days below 20°F per year

Asheville drops below 20°F on 13 more days per year than San Diego.

04 · the life

OutdoorScore

75 / 100

66 / 100

9.0 pts behind San Diego

Walk Score®

99 / 100

63 / 100

36 pts behind San Diego

Nonstop flights

55 routes

8 routes

47 fewer direct routes than San Diego

Metro size

3.3M metro

417k metro

San Diego has 5.0x more events per month than Asheville.

the verdict

4

San Diego

categories won

of 9

4

Asheville

categories won

San Diego wins on weather and lifestyle, Asheville wins on money. Dead even.

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We 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