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→Savannah
Savannah is 22 oak-shaded squares draped in Spanish moss, ghost tours by candlelight, and shrimp and grits so good they should be regulated. The historic district is a working film set that just happens to be a real city, kept lively by SCAD students keeping the cafes weird. To-go cups of cocktails are legal in the historic district, which tells you exactly how the city wants you to spend a Saturday. The oldest art museum in the South is here too, in case you need a culture alibi.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,770/mo
$1,700/mo less than San Jose (96%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$349k
$1.4M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,106/mo
Savannah has $2,018/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
209 days
74 fewer than San Jose
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 edges ahead on pleasant days, but both cities have comparable comfort overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
52 / 100
18.0 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
425k metro
San Jose has 3.9x more events per month than Savannah.
the verdict
3
San Jose
categories won
4
Savannah
categories won
Savannah wins on money. San Jose has the edge on weather and lifestyle.
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