01 · the cities
San Francisco
San Francisco is hills, fog, Mission burritos the size of forearms, and pastel Victorians stacked like dominoes. Karl the Fog has his own Instagram, the cable cars are still mechanically pulled by cables running under the street, and the Pacific shows up at the end of every west-bound avenue. The food is wildly good, the views are theatrical, and yes, you'll get cardio just walking to the corner store.
full dispatch→Albuquerque
Albuquerque is green chile on everything, the Sandia Mountains turning pink at sunset (the name literally means watermelon), and the Balloon Fiesta in October when 500+ hot air balloons fill the sky. The old town adobes feel like the 1700s, the food fuses Native, Mexican, and Spanish in ways you won't get anywhere else. Breaking Bad fans will recognize half the city, and locals are good-natured about it.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,489/mo
$1,657/mo less than San Francisco (111%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$351k
$887k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.9%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,353/mo
Albuquerque has $1,941/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
312 days
205 days
107 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
34 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
6 days
days below 20°F per year
Albuquerque has 34 more days above 95°F each year than San Francisco. Albuquerque drops below 20°F on 6 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
81 / 100
2.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
23 routes
88 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
924k metro
San Francisco has 6.1x more events per month than Albuquerque.
the verdict
5
San Francisco
categories won
4
Albuquerque
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle. Albuquerque has the edge on money.
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