01 · the cities
San Jose
San Jose is Silicon Valley's anchor city, much bigger than San Francisco by population, and culturally underrated because everyone drives through it on the way somewhere else. The Vietnamese food scene (especially in Little Saigon) is one of the best in the country. The weather is impossibly mild, the Santa Cruz Mountains rise to the west, and the tech money funds a genuinely excellent restaurant scene.
full dispatch→Boston
Boston is brick sidewalks, dive bars older than most states, and an accent that turns 'park the car' into a love language. The city is densely packed with colleges (Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, plus 30 more), which keeps it perpetually 22 years old in spirit. The Freedom Trail literally paints a red line through 400 years of American history. Dunkin' is not a chain here, it's a way of life.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$3,145/mo
$325/mo less than San Jose (10%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$771k
$1.0M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$4,772/mo
Boston has $684/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
283 days
160 days
123 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
2 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
33 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 17 more days above 95°F each year than Boston. Boston drops below 20°F on 33 more days per year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
71 / 100
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
103 routes
74 more direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
4.9M metro
San Jose has 2.7x fewer events per month than Boston.
the verdict
2
San Jose
categories won
6
Boston
categories won
Boston wins on money and lifestyle. San Jose has the edge on weather.
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