01 · the cities
Spokane
Spokane is eastern Washington's anchor city, very different from Seattle: drier, sunnier, with the Spokane River tumbling through downtown in actual waterfalls. Riverfront Park (built for the 1974 World's Fair) is the city's living room. Bing Crosby was born here. Mt. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Lake are nearby. The Bloomsday run every May draws around 40,000 people. Affordable and outdoorsy.
full dispatch→Allentown
Allentown is the heart of the Lehigh Valley, with old industrial bones turning into a quietly resilient mid-sized city. The Lehigh River runs past, the historic downtown has been steadily finding its footing with breweries and restaurants in the old buildings, and the surrounding farmland is gorgeous. It's an hour and change from both Philly and NYC. Cheaper than both, by a lot.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$1,520/mo
$1,809/mo
$289/mo more than Spokane (16%)
Median home price
Median home price
$420k
$359k
$61k less than Spokane
State income tax
State income tax
0%
3.1%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$6,813/mo
$6,269/mo
Spokane has $544/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
164 days
157 days
7 fewer than Spokane
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
6 days
2 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
34 days
32 days
days below 20°F per year
Spokane and Allentown have remarkably similar weather profiles overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
81 / 100
73 / 100
8.0 pts behind Spokane
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
10 routes
9 routes
Metro size
Metro size
600k metro
874k metro
Spokane has 1.4x more events per month than Allentown.
the verdict
5
Spokane
categories won
1
Allentown
categories won
Spokane wins this comparison, leading on money and weather.
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