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→Spartanburg
Spartanburg is the Upstate of South Carolina, with rolling foothills, peach orchards (yes, South Carolina actually grows more peaches than Georgia in some years), and the largest BMW manufacturing plant in the world just outside town. The downtown's been revitalizing with breweries and restaurants. Wofford and Converse keep college energy in town. The Blue Ridge is right there.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,434/mo
$1,712/mo less than San Francisco (119%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$277k
$961k less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
6.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,358/mo
Spartanburg has $1,946/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
191 days
121 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
16 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
4 days
days below 20°F per year
Spartanburg has 16 more days above 95°F each year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
68 / 100
15.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
20 routes
91 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
383k metro
San Francisco has 17.2x more events per month than Spartanburg.
the verdict
4
San Francisco
categories won
4
Spartanburg
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle, Spartanburg wins on money. Dead even.
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