City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
Austin vs Boston
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Boston leads 4–2. Character is a different question: Austin is the capitol and the music; Boston is the cradle of revolution.
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| What we measure | Austin | Boston | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 34 | 46 | Boston |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 272 | 299 | Austin |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 3 | 4 | Boston |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 15 | 60 | Boston |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 28 | 6 | Austin |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 0 | 3 | Boston |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Austin in orange, Boston in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
AustinBoston
10 places
legends & myths3 places
1 place
parks & leisure10 places
9 places
arts & culture4 places
3 places
crime & dark history7 places
1 place
faith & churches7 places
2 places
guilds & trade6 places
5 places
industry & modern era6 places
Austin scorecard →
The capitol and the music
Boston scorecard →
The cradle of revolution