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→El Paso
El Paso has the Franklin Mountains running right through the middle of the city (which is rare), with hiking trails inside city limits and the desert wide open just past the suburbs. The Mexican food is exceptional in ways that the rest of Texas doesn't quite match (it's true regional border food). Ciudad Juarez is literally next door across the Rio Grande. The light at sunset is unreal.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,473/mo
$1,997/mo less than San Jose (136%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$231k
$1.6M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,860/mo
El Paso has $2,772/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
222 days
61 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
60 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
1 days
days below 20°F per year
El Paso has 41 more days above 95°F each year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
65 / 100
5.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
13 routes
16 fewer direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
872k metro
San Jose has 2.1x more events per month than El Paso.
the verdict
4
San Jose
categories won
4
El Paso
categories won
San Jose wins on weather and lifestyle, El Paso wins on money. Dead even.
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