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→Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the Pennsylvania state capital sitting on the Susquehanna River, with a gorgeous Beaux-Arts capitol building (Theodore Roosevelt called it the handsomest building he ever saw). City Island in the middle of the river is a small park with minor league baseball. Hershey is 15 minutes east (yes, that Hershey). Slower-paced than its metro neighbors.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,446/mo
$1,700/mo less than San Francisco (118%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$309k
$930k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,632/mo
Harrisburg has $2,220/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
152 days
160 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
3 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
33 days
days below 20°F per year
Harrisburg drops below 20°F on 33 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
69 / 100
14.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
12 routes
99 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
606k metro
San Francisco has 7.8x more events per month than Harrisburg.
the verdict
4
San Francisco
categories won
4
Harrisburg
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle, Harrisburg wins on money. Dead even.
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