Des Moines and San Francisco: factual differences

I’ve been visiting family in the Bay Area of California for three weeks – plenty of time to see some differences between Polk County in Central Iowa and San Mateo County just south of San Francisco. (Compare stats.)

Weather? In the summer this coastal part of CA often feels cool; Central Iowa often feels a little muggy.

• at 2 pm on Friday, June 26 it was 65 with 64% humidity and an 8 mph breeze in Half Moon Bay
• at 2 pm in Des Moines it was 86 with similar humidity and breezes
• and sometimes San Francisco can be downright cold in the summer! In the photo to the right taken at 3 pm on June 24, it was foggy and 50 degrees with a 25 mph wind on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Unemployment? Iowa looks comparatively good.

• 9.5% nationally
• 11.2 % in Silicon Valley; 11.5% in California overall
• 5.2% in Iowa

Real estate? Iowa wins big time! While the houses don’t look that different, the land costs are very different. In the first quarter of 2009 the median cost of a home was

• over $600,000 in San Mateo County where the median household  income was $83,000
• under $140,000 in Polk County where the median household income was $54,000

Cost of living? You may have figured this one out already. The cost of living where the national average is set as 100 is

• 171 in San Mateo County
• 82 in Polk County

State budget? California is in a budget impasse, and the world is watching. Iowa appears to be OK.

• In California the governor and the legislature are enough at odds that the state can’t pay its bills
• In Iowa although it has not been an easy process, the budget is manageable

Well, you win some, you lose some, and sometimes you tie.