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→Charlotte
Charlotte is banking towers (it's the second-biggest banking center in the country after NYC) wrapped in pine trees and southern hospitality. Uptown is the downtown (Charlotteans correct you on this immediately), the NASCAR Hall of Fame anchors a real motorsport scene, and the Whitewater Center lets you raft inside the city limits. Growth is fast, breweries are everywhere, and barbecue gets the Carolina vinegar treatment.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,728/mo
$1,742/mo less than San Jose (101%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$391k
$1.4M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,230/mo
Charlotte has $2,142/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
200 days
83 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
7 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
3 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 12 more days above 95°F each year than Charlotte.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
51 / 100
19.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
141 routes
112 more direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
2.8M metro
San Jose has 1.8x fewer events per month than Charlotte.
the verdict
2
San Jose
categories won
6
Charlotte
categories won
Charlotte leads on money and wins overall.
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