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→York
York calls itself the White Rose City, claims to be America's first capital (Continental Congress met here briefly in 1777), and is the home of the Harley-Davidson assembly plant (factory tours available). The market houses in town go back over 100 years. The downtown is brick and walkable, the surrounding farm country is gorgeous, and the Susquehanna River is a quick drive east. Quietly historic.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,146/mo
$1,361/mo
$1,785/mo less than San Francisco (131%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.2M
$310k
$929k 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
$6,717/mo
York has $2,305/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
159 days
153 fewer than San Francisco
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
4 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
27 days
days below 20°F per year
York drops below 20°F on 27 more days per year than San Francisco.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
83 / 100
64 / 100
19.0 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
465k metro
San Francisco has 258.0x more events per month than York.
the verdict
4
San Francisco
categories won
4
York
categories won
San Francisco wins on weather and lifestyle, York wins on money. Dead even.
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