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→New Orleans
New Orleans doesn't run on time, it runs on rhythm. The brass bands roll second-line parades through the streets for weddings, funerals, and Tuesdays, the gumbo is a personality test, and the French Quarter's wrought-iron balconies look exactly like the postcards. Mardi Gras is real life here, not a stunt. The air carries beignet sugar, river mist, and someone's trumpet warming up two blocks over.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,612/mo
$1,858/mo less than San Jose (115%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$259k
$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
$6,471/mo
New Orleans has $2,383/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
235 days
48 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
0 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 16 more days above 95°F each year than New Orleans.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
55 / 100
15.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
39 routes
10 more direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
962k metro
San Jose has 1.5x fewer events per month than New Orleans.
the verdict
2
San Jose
categories won
6
New Orleans
categories won
New Orleans leads on money and wins overall.
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