the United States' cities, measured on foot
Which of the United States' cities rewards a day on foot? Not the one with the best reputation, the one whose streets have the most to tell. Measured from 1,528 places with a story, 33,387 plays and 2,519 player photos across the United States.
Compare any two cities head-to-head
New York City holds the United States' deepest collection of walked stories. The surprise is second place: Philadelphia, a smaller city than Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, scores above all of them.
Big cities
The cities with room to wander. Ranked by how much story their streets hold, how often you meet one, and how people actually play there.
How the score works›
Cities of 100,000 residents or more, ranked by overall score out of 100. Scores are measured against fixed goalposts rather than against the United States' leaders, so a score reads the same here as on any other page. Most cities are scored on all eight measures; a city that cannot be scored on every one says so on its page. For scale, the highest score in the whole index is 75 (London) and the midpoint across all 80 indexed cities is 47.
New York CityThe island of arrivalsa story every 291 mLeads on historical figures, places with a story2 medals69/100Routes
PhiladelphiaThe city where the republic begana story every 329 mLeads on instagrammable1 medal54/100Routes
New OrleansThe creole porta story every 208 mLeads on guilds & trade, legends & myths2 medals52/100Routes
ChicagoThe city rebuilt after the firea story every 293 mLeads on crime & dark history1 medal49/100Routes
Show the other 6 citiesShow fewer
Who leads each measure
The ranking above says which cities hold the most story overall. This says what each one is best at, which is a different question and often a more interesting answer.
Among its big cities
| Arts & culture | Washington D.C. | 40% of its stories |
| Crime & dark history | Chicago | 17% of its stories |
| Faith & churches | Boston | 15% of its stories |
| Guilds & trade | New Orleans | 16% of its stories |
| Historical figures | New York City | 99 people in its stories |
| Industry & modern era | San Francisco | 15% of its stories |
| Instagrammable | Philadelphia | |
| Legends & myths | New Orleans | 31% of its stories |
| Parks & leisure | Portland, OR and Houston | 25% of its stories |
| Places with a story | New York City | 369 places |
| Stories closest together | Orlando | a story every 184 m |
A measure is led inside a size bracket, so United States can have both a big-city and a small-town leader on the same one. Ties within 5% are shared. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so theme leads describe character rather than quality.
Small cities & towns
Small places, short walks. They hold far less story than a capital, and the best of them pack what they have into a few dense streets.
How the score works›
Towns and cities under 100,000 residents, ranked separately because a rate rewards compactness: a town cannot hold a capital's number of stories, but it can put them closer together. A small town is scored from 20 places with a story rather than 30.
Scores are computed from Questo's own walked routes, player reviews and photos — method version on the methodology page. Measured 2026-08-21; next edition 2027. Alexandria, Annapolis, Birmingham, Alabama, Charleston, Detroit, Elgin, Honolulu, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Mesa, Nashville, Newport, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Antonio, Savannah, Scottsdale, Springfield, Illinois, Tacoma, Waco, Winston-Salem appears without a rank: its story coverage doesn't yet meet the bar we'd defend to a journalist. Part of the Questo City Stories Index.