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→Asheville
Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,738/mo
$1,408/mo less than San Francisco (81%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$430k
$809k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,220/mo
Asheville has $1,808/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
201 days
111 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
13 days
days below 20°F per year
Asheville drops below 20°F on 13 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
66 / 100
17.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
8 routes
103 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
417k metro
San Francisco has 7.4x more events per month than Asheville.
the verdict
4
San Francisco
categories won
4
Asheville
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle, Asheville wins on money. Dead even.
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