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→Louisville
Louisville is bourbon, the Derby, Muhammad Ali, and the Hot Brown sandwich (an open-faced turkey-and-cheese situation invented at the Brown Hotel). Derby week is a citywide event where people dress like they're at a wedding for a horse. The Highlands neighborhood has the best dive bars, the Urban Bourbon Trail downtown takes a full weekend. Pronounce it 'Loo-uh-vul' and you'll fit in.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,597/mo
$1,368/mo
$1,229/mo less than Santa Rosa (90%)
Median home price
Median home price
$817k
$282k
$535k less than Santa Rosa
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
4.5%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,961/mo
$6,590/mo
Louisville has $1,629/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
181 days
73 fewer than Santa Rosa
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
28 days
1 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
0 days
15 days
days below 20°F per year
Santa Rosa has 27 more days above 95°F each year than Louisville. Louisville drops below 20°F on 15 more days per year than Santa Rosa.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
54 / 100
15.0 pts behind Santa Rosa
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
4 routes
22 routes
18 more direct routes than Santa Rosa
Metro size
Metro size
482k metro
1.4M metro
Santa Rosa has 92.0x fewer events per month than Louisville.
the verdict
3
Santa Rosa
categories won
6
Louisville
categories won
Louisville wins on money. Santa Rosa has the edge on weather.
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