01 · the cities
Santa Maria
Santa Maria has its own style of barbecue (tri-tip cooked over red oak with pinquito beans and salsa), which is a legitimate regional tradition that locals will fight you about. The surrounding Santa Maria Valley is becoming serious wine country (especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). It's quieter and more affordable than its central coast neighbors. The Pacific is right there.
full dispatch→Kansas City
Kansas City is barbecue (burnt ends are a local invention), jazz (the 18th and Vine district fed Charlie Parker and Count Basie), and fountains everywhere you turn. The city straddles two states and doesn't make a big deal out of it. The Plaza shopping district looks like Seville, which is delightfully odd for the Midwest. Friendly here means genuinely friendly.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,352/mo
$1,502/mo
$1,850/mo less than Santa Maria (123%)
Median home price
Median home price
$1.1M
$326k
$733k less than Santa Maria
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.7%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,206/mo
$6,440/mo
Kansas City has $2,234/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
337 days
170 days
167 fewer than Santa Maria
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
0 days
8 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
26 days
days below 20°F per year
Kansas City has 8 more days above 95°F each year than Santa Maria. Kansas City drops below 20°F on 26 more days per year than Santa Maria.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
59 / 100
56 / 100
3.0 pts behind Santa Maria
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
2 routes
43 routes
41 more direct routes than Santa Maria
Metro size
Metro size
441k metro
2.2M metro
the verdict
4
Santa Maria
categories won
5
Kansas City
categories won
Kansas City wins on money. Santa Maria has the edge on weather.
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