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→Huntsville
Huntsville is Rocket City, with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Saturn V rocket on display at the Space and Rocket Center, and a tech and engineering economy that punches way above the city's size. Cummings Research Park is the second-largest research park in the U.S. The Tennessee River and Monte Sano State Park give it a quiet outdoor side. Affordable and surprisingly smart.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,597/mo
$1,374/mo
$1,223/mo less than Santa Rosa (89%)
Median home price
Median home price
$817k
$316k
$502k less than Santa Rosa
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
5.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,961/mo
$6,543/mo
Huntsville has $1,582/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
177 days
77 fewer than Santa Rosa
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
28 days
13 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
6 days
days below 20°F per year
Santa Rosa has 15 more days above 95°F each year than Huntsville. Huntsville drops below 20°F on 6 more days per year than Santa Rosa.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
58 / 100
11.0 pts behind Santa Rosa
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
4 routes
9 routes
5 more direct routes than Santa Rosa
Metro size
Metro size
482k metro
527k metro
Santa Rosa has 32.0x fewer events per month than Huntsville.
the verdict
3
Santa Rosa
categories won
6
Huntsville
categories won
Huntsville 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