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→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
$2,597/mo
$1,502/mo
$1,095/mo less than Santa Rosa (73%)
Median home price
Median home price
$817k
$326k
$491k less than Santa Rosa
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.7%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,961/mo
$6,440/mo
Kansas City has $1,479/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
170 days
84 fewer than Santa Rosa
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
28 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
Santa Rosa has 20 more days above 95°F each year than Kansas City. Kansas City drops below 20°F on 26 more days per year than Santa Rosa.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
56 / 100
13.0 pts behind Santa Rosa
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
4 routes
43 routes
39 more direct routes than Santa Rosa
Metro size
Metro size
482k metro
2.2M metro
Santa Rosa has 84.0x fewer events per month than Kansas City.
the verdict
3
Santa Rosa
categories won
6
Kansas City
categories won
Kansas City wins on money. Santa Rosa has the edge on weather.
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