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→Kennewick
Kennewick is part of the Tri-Cities (with Pasco and Richland), sitting at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima rivers in eastern Washington. The Columbia Valley wine region (Walla Walla is 45 minutes east) is one of the most acclaimed in the country. It's sunny, dry, and much cheaper than the Seattle side. The Hanford Reach is a hauntingly beautiful stretch of the Columbia. Underrated.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,686/mo
$1,784/mo less than San Jose (106%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$441k
$1.4M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,647/mo
Kennewick has $2,559/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
199 days
84 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
26 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
8 days
days below 20°F per year
Kennewick has 7 more days above 95°F each year than San Jose. Kennewick drops below 20°F on 8 more days per year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
74 / 100
4.0 pts ahead of San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
8 routes
21 fewer direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
314k metro
San Jose has 62.0x more events per month than Kennewick.
the verdict
4
San Jose
categories won
5
Kennewick
categories won
Kennewick wins on money. San Jose has the edge on weather.
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