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→Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne sits where three rivers meet (the St. Joseph, the St. Marys, and the Maumee), and the riverfront has been transforming into a real public space. The Children's Zoo is consistently ranked among the country's best. It's the second-largest city in Indiana, with the friendly small-town feel still intact. Cheap, easy, and quietly improving.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,187/mo
$2,283/mo less than San Jose (192%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$254k
$1.5M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,896/mo
Fort Wayne has $2,808/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
161 days
122 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
38 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 19 more days above 95°F each year than Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne drops below 20°F on 38 more days per year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
46 / 100
24.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
10 routes
19 fewer direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
458k metro
San Jose has 3.0x more events per month than Fort Wayne.
the verdict
4
San Jose
categories won
5
Fort Wayne
categories won
Fort Wayne wins on money. San Jose has the edge on weather and lifestyle.
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