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→Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 88 cities pretending to be one, connected by freeways and a shared love of really good tacos. Every neighborhood is its own scene: surfers in Venice, the Korean grandmas of K-town, mountains rising behind Pasadena, Persian rugs in Westwood. The light at golden hour is so good it makes Instagram filters jealous. Roll the windows down at golden hour, put on a playlist, and let the city stretch out.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$2,899/mo
$571/mo less than San Jose (20%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$1.0M
$767k less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
9.3%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$4,659/mo
Los Angeles has $571/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
283 days
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
19 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose and Los Angeles have remarkably similar weather profiles overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
67 / 100
3.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
150 routes
121 more direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
12.8M metro
San Jose has 5.6x fewer events per month than Los Angeles.
the verdict
1
San Jose
categories won
4
Los Angeles
categories won
Los Angeles wins this comparison, leading on money.
run your numbers
How far does your San Jose salary go?
Enter your salary to see a full ranked list of cities where you would live better.
see your top citiesWe use a proprietary blend of data from the US Census, Zillow, Ticketmaster, and more.
Walk Score® is a trademark of Walk Score, a Redfin company. How Walk Score works