AustinThe capitol and the music
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 13 walked routes: in Austin, you pass a place with a story every 272 metres.
Ranked #15 of 16 United States big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · scored on 7 of 8 measures · how we measure
Depth28/100
34 places with a story
3 historical figures
Density57/100
a story every 272 m
median along a route
Character17/100
legends & myths
typical story: 1914 · 19th century
Pulse47/100
Instagrammability 15/100
peak month: May
Austin, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | Austin | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 34 | 30 | #60 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 3 | 21 | #55 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.4h | 32 | #50 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 272 m | 57 | #33 of 71 | Williamsburg · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 171 yrs | 17 | #67 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 15/100 | 15 | #52 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 28 in 100 | 79 | #4 of 69 | Houston · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 0% | not scored here: most visitors write English too, so the measure cannot tell them apart | — | Venice (Italy) · 97% |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. Austin's 34 on places with a story scores 30, and it scores 30 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). Austin is scored on 7 of the 8 measures: its overall score averages those 7, and the greyed measures stay out of the average rather than counting against it. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
Character
What its stories are about
- legends & myths29%
- arts & culture26%
- industry & modern era15%
Out of Austin's 34 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- 19th century41%
- Early 20th century32%
- Post-war14%
- Contemporary14%
When Austin's stories happen (65% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 5 recent years). Peak: May.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English100%
Language of 500+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
34 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is a civil rights legend. In the mid-1950s, Dr. King led the movement to end segregation…
We’ve had salamanders, now it’s time for monkeys! Okay, not actual monkeys. You’ll see. Although there’s documentation of the origin of the…
Originally, this building was a simple log cabin established in 1852, but 14 years later it was taken down and replaced by…
Depth
Figures you meet on Austin's streets
Julius Whittier
at 1 place
Julius Whittier
Nancy Rubins
at 1 place
Canoes
Willard Boepple
at 1 place
Batts Hall Courtyard
Depth
Every Austin place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk Austin's stories yourself
Three of 13 routes here. See everything in Austin
Where next after Austin?
New York CityThe island of arrivals2431 km away · a story every 291 m
New OrleansThe creole port747 km away · a story every 208 m
HoustonThe city on the bayou235 km away · a story every 340 m
ChicagoThe city rebuilt after the fire1576 km away · a story every 293 m
San AntonioThe mission city144 km away · a story every 218 m
WacoThe Brazos river town153 km away · a story every 194 mHow does Austin compare?
Put Austin head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
Quick answers
- What is Austin like to explore on foot?
- Austin has 34 places with a story across 13 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 272 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards legends & myths and arts & culture.
- Which historical period defines Austin?
- 41% of Austin's dated stories come from the 19th century period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1850.
- When do people visit Austin?
- Player activity in Austin peaks in May, with a typical 30% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 5 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in Austin: 1,000+ plays and 500+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in Austin, you pass a place with a story every 272 metres on average.
- 41% of Austin's dated stories come from the 19th century period.
- Austin's typical story happens in 1914: the median year across its dated stories, which span 171 years.
- 0% of Austin's written player reviews are in a language other than English (from 500+ reviews).
- Roughly 28 of every 100 plays in Austin is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- Austin's play season peaks in May; a typical 30% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 5 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
Austin ranks #72 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
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</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know Austin. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.