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→Honolulu
Honolulu is Waikiki's high-rises pressed against turquoise water, Diamond Head crater glowing pink at dawn, and plate lunches that mix Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Portuguese into one perfect styrofoam container. Surf the south shore in summer, the north in winter. The North Shore is a 45-minute drive into a totally different world. Aloha here is a way of moving through the day.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$2,843/mo
$303/mo less than San Francisco (11%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$1.1M
$177k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
11.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$4,574/mo
Honolulu has $162/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
316 days
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
San Francisco and Honolulu have remarkably similar weather profiles overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
55 / 100
28.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
51 routes
60 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
989k metro
San Francisco has 2.7x more events per month than Honolulu.
the verdict
3
San Francisco
categories won
3
Honolulu
categories won
San Francisco wins on lifestyle, Honolulu wins on money. Dead even.
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