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→Wichita
Wichita is the Air Capital of the World, with Cessna, Beechcraft, and major Spirit AeroSystems facilities all here. The Arkansas River runs through downtown, and the Old Town district has brick streets, breweries, and the kind of friendly Kansas pace that makes the rest of the country envious. The flatness is real, and the sunsets are enormous because of it.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,173/mo
$1,973/mo less than San Francisco (168%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$221k
$1.0M less than San Francisco
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.7%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,412/mo
$6,685/mo
Wichita has $2,273/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
164 days
148 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
30 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
20 days
days below 20°F per year
Wichita has 30 more days above 95°F each year than San Francisco. Wichita drops below 20°F on 20 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
52 / 100
31.0 pts behind San Francisco
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
111 routes
11 routes
100 fewer direct routes than San Francisco
Metro size
Metro size
4.6M metro
653k metro
San Francisco has 14.3x more events per month than Wichita.
the verdict
5
San Francisco
categories won
4
Wichita
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle. Wichita has the edge on money.
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