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→Providence
Providence is what a college town looks like wearing a former industrial capital's old leather jacket. Brown and RISD pour creatives in by the thousand, Federal Hill has been feeding them red sauce since forever, and on summer nights WaterFire literally lights bonfires up and down the river. It's cheap enough that Boston refugees actually stay. The state capitol has the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world, and you'll be told within an hour of arrival.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$2,597/mo
$2,127/mo
$470/mo less than Santa Rosa (22%)
Median home price
Median home price
$817k
$528k
$290k less than Santa Rosa
State income tax
State income tax
9.3%
6.0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,961/mo
$5,707/mo
Providence has $746/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
159 days
95 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
35 days
days below 20°F per year
Santa Rosa has 27 more days above 95°F each year than Providence. Providence drops below 20°F on 35 more days per year than Santa Rosa.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
69 / 100
63 / 100
6.0 pts behind Santa Rosa
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
4 routes
17 routes
13 more direct routes than Santa Rosa
Metro size
Metro size
482k metro
1.7M metro
Santa Rosa has 21.0x fewer events per month than Providence.
the verdict
3
Santa Rosa
categories won
6
Providence
categories won
Providence wins on money. Santa Rosa has the edge on weather.
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