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→York
York calls itself the White Rose City, claims to be America's first capital (Continental Congress met here briefly in 1777), and is the home of the Harley-Davidson assembly plant (factory tours available). The market houses in town go back over 100 years. The downtown is brick and walkable, the surrounding farm country is gorgeous, and the Susquehanna River is a quick drive east. Quietly historic.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,470/mo
$1,361/mo
$2,109/mo less than San Jose (155%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.8M
$310k
$1.5M less than San Jose
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,088/mo
$6,717/mo
York has $2,629/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
159 days
124 fewer than San Jose
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
19 days
4 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
27 days
days below 20°F per year
San Jose has 15 more days above 95°F each year than York. York drops below 20°F on 27 more days per year than San Jose.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
70 / 100
64 / 100
6.0 pts behind San Jose
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
29 routes
12 routes
17 fewer direct routes than San Jose
Metro size
Metro size
1.9M metro
465k metro
San Jose has 62.0x more events per month than York.
the verdict
4
San Jose
categories won
5
York
categories won
York wins on money. San Jose has the edge on weather and lifestyle.
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