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→Hagerstown
Hagerstown is the Hub City of western Maryland, where rail lines and highways converge in the Cumberland Valley. The downtown has a small but charming historic core. Antietam Battlefield is 30 minutes south, with some of the most affecting Civil War landscape in the country. The Appalachian Trail crosses just to the west. Quiet, with serious history nearby.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,587/mo
$1,559/mo less than San Francisco (98%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$321k
$918k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
8.2%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,063/mo
Hagerstown has $1,651/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
160 days
152 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
6 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
24 days
days below 20°F per year
Hagerstown has 6 more days above 95°F each year than San Francisco. Hagerstown drops below 20°F on 24 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
2 routes
109 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
305k metro
San Francisco has 14.3x more events per month than Hagerstown.
the verdict
5
San Francisco
categories won
4
Hagerstown
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle. Hagerstown has the edge on money.
run your numbers
How far does your San Francisco salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works