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→Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor is the University of Michigan, with the Big House (Michigan Stadium) holding over 107,000 people on football Saturdays, making it briefly the third-largest city in Michigan. Downtown is tree-lined brick streets, great independent bookstores, and a food scene with strong Middle Eastern and Korean energy. Zingerman's Deli is a national pilgrimage. The Huron River runs through. College town energy at its best.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$2,082/mo
$1,064/mo less than San Francisco (51%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$429k
$809k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.3%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$5,897/mo
Ann Arbor has $1,485/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
154 days
158 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
51 days
days below 20°F per year
Ann Arbor drops below 20°F on 51 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
56 / 100
27.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
135 routes
24 more direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
366k metro
San Francisco has 18.4x more events per month than Ann Arbor.
the verdict
3
San Francisco
categories won
5
Ann Arbor
categories won
Ann Arbor wins on money. San Francisco has the edge on weather.
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