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→Cincinnati
Cincinnati is chili served on spaghetti (Skyline and Gold Star will fight you about which is better), German heritage in Over-the-Rhine's beer halls, and a riverfront that looks straight across at Kentucky. OTR's brick warehouses have become one of the best urban revitalizations in the country. The Reds play in baseball's oldest professional city. Pronounce it correctly and the locals warm up fast.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,549/mo
$1,921/mo less than San Jose (124%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$316k
$1.5M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,452/mo
Cincinnati has $2,364/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
162 days
121 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
3 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
26 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 16 more days above 95°F each year than Cincinnati. Cincinnati drops below 20°F on 26 more days per year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
72 / 100
2.0 pts ahead of San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
47 routes
18 more direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
2.3M metro
San Jose has 1.4x fewer events per month than Cincinnati.
the verdict
2
San Jose
categories won
7
Cincinnati
categories won
Cincinnati wins on money and lifestyle. San Jose has the edge on weather.
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