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

Reading

Reading is the Pagoda lit up on Mount Penn (a Japanese-style pavilion built in 1908 that's become the city symbol), old factory bones, and the surrounding Berks County farmland. The downtown food and art scene is growing into the old factory bones, with breweries and galleries opening steadily. Pretzels, scrapple, and Pennsylvania Dutch baking are everywhere. Cheaper than nearby Lancaster.

full dispatch

02 · the money

Median rent

$2,890/mo

$1,478/mo

$1,412/mo less than San Diego (96%)

Median home price

$1.0M

$311k

$700k less than San Diego

State income tax

9.3%

3.1%

Gross left after rent

$4,668/mo

$6,600/mo

Reading has $1,932/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

157 days

175 fewer than San Diego

Extreme heat days

0 days

2 days

days above 95°F per year

Extreme cold days

0 days

32 days

days below 20°F per year

Reading drops below 20°F on 32 more days per year than San Diego.

04 · the life

OutdoorScore

75 / 100

65 / 100

10.0 pts behind San Diego

Walk Score®

99 / 100

85 / 100

14 pts behind San Diego

Nonstop flights

55 routes

0 routes

55 fewer direct routes than San Diego

Metro size

3.3M metro

433k metro

San Diego has 6.0x more events per month than Reading.

the verdict

4

San Diego

categories won

of 9

4

Reading

categories won

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

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We use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.

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