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→Spokane
Spokane is eastern Washington's anchor city, very different from Seattle: drier, sunnier, with the Spokane River tumbling through downtown in actual waterfalls. Riverfront Park (built for the 1974 World's Fair) is the city's living room. Bing Crosby was born here. Mt. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Lake are nearby. The Bloomsday run every May draws around 40,000 people. Affordable and outdoorsy.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,890/mo
$1,520/mo
$1,370/mo less than San Diego (90%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.0M
$420k
$590k less than San Diego
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,668/mo
$6,813/mo
Spokane has $2,145/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
164 days
168 fewer than San Diego
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
6 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
34 days
days below 20°F per year
Spokane has 6 more days above 95°F each year than San Diego. Spokane drops below 20°F on 34 more days per year than San Diego.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
75 / 100
81 / 100
6.0 pts ahead of San Diego
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
55 routes
10 routes
45 fewer direct routes than San Diego
Metro size
Metro size
3.3M metro
600k metro
San Diego has 4.7x more events per month than Spokane.
the verdict
4
San Diego
categories won
5
Spokane
categories won
Spokane wins on money. San Diego has the edge on weather.
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