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→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→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,890/mo
$1,473/mo
$1,417/mo less than San Diego (96%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.0M
$223k
$788k less than San Diego
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,668/mo
$6,605/mo
Pittsburgh has $1,937/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
332 days
161 days
171 fewer than San Diego
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
28 days
days below 20°F per year
Pittsburgh drops below 20°F on 28 more days per year than San Diego.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
75 / 100
69 / 100
6.0 pts behind San Diego
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
55 routes
37 routes
18 fewer direct routes than San Diego
Metro size
Metro size
3.3M metro
2.4M metro
San Diego has 2.2x more events per month than Pittsburgh.
the verdict
4
San Diego
categories won
4
Pittsburgh
categories won
San Diego wins on weather and lifestyle, Pittsburgh wins on money. Dead even.
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