01 · the cities
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (SLO to locals) sits halfway between LA and San Francisco on the central coast, with Cal Poly students, gorgeous wine country (Edna Valley and Paso Robles nearby), and a Thursday night farmers market that takes over downtown. It's been called the happiest city in America (multiple studies, Oprah included), and the vibe really does back that up. Bubblegum Alley is exactly what it sounds like. Mellow and beautiful.
full dispatch→Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice (446, and locals will tell you the exact number), three rivers crashing together downtown, and a sandwich tradition where the fries go inside. The mills are long gone but the neighborhoods they built (Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip) still feed you like a great aunt. Carnegie Mellon and UPMC turned the old industrial bones into a robotics and medical research scene. The skyline reveal coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel is the cheapest awe in America.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,095/mo
$1,473/mo
$1,622/mo less than San Luis Obispo (110%)
Median home price
Median home price
$934k
$223k
$711k less than San Luis Obispo
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,463/mo
$6,605/mo
Pittsburgh has $2,142/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
303 days
161 days
142 fewer than San Luis Obispo
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
14 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
28 days
days below 20°F per year
San Luis Obispo has 14 more days above 95°F each year than Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh drops below 20°F on 28 more days per year than San Luis Obispo.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
68 / 100
69 / 100
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
3 routes
37 routes
34 more direct routes than San Luis Obispo
Metro size
Metro size
282k metro
2.4M metro
San Luis Obispo has 7.9x fewer events per month than Pittsburgh.
the verdict
2
San Luis Obispo
categories won
6
Pittsburgh
categories won
Pittsburgh wins on money and lifestyle. San Luis Obispo has the edge on weather.
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