01 · the cities
Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is the gateway to Sonoma wine country, less polished than Napa but more lived-in. Charles Schulz lived here and the Snoopy museum is a delight. The Russian River redwoods are 30 minutes west. The city itself has rebuilt impressively after the 2017 fires, with a downtown that mixes wineries, breweries, and farm-to-table restaurants. Cooler than San Francisco in summer.
full dispatch→Columbus
Columbus is Ohio State on autumn Saturdays (the Horseshoe holds 100,000+ and they all wear scarlet), German Village's cobblestone streets and brick cottages, and a Short North gallery scene that punches well above its weight. It's quietly become a test market for the rest of America because the demographics line up so neatly. The food scene leans young, weird, and good. 'Buckeyes' here can mean either the football team or the chocolate-peanut-butter candy.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,597/mo
$1,511/mo
$1,086/mo less than Santa Rosa (72%)
Median home price
Median home price
$817k
$350k
$468k less than Santa Rosa
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,961/mo
$6,490/mo
Columbus has $1,529/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
254 days
171 days
83 fewer than Santa Rosa
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
28 days
0 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
29 days
days below 20°F per year
Santa Rosa has 28 more days above 95°F each year than Columbus. Columbus drops below 20°F on 29 more days per year than Santa Rosa.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
57 / 100
12.0 pts behind Santa Rosa
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
4 routes
32 routes
28 more direct routes than Santa Rosa
Metro size
Metro size
482k metro
2.2M metro
Santa Rosa has 116.0x fewer events per month than Columbus.
the verdict
3
Santa Rosa
categories won
6
Columbus
categories won
Columbus wins on money. Santa Rosa has the edge on weather.
run your numbers
How far does your Santa Rosa 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