City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
Boston vs San Francisco
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, San Francisco leads 3–2 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: Boston is the cradle of revolution; San Francisco is the gold rush city.
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| What we measure | Boston | San Francisco | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 46 | 60 | San Francisco |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 299 | 329 | Boston |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 4 | 4 | tie |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 60 | 23 | Boston |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 6 | 22 | San Francisco |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 3 | 6 | San Francisco |
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: Boston in orange, San Francisco in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
BostonSan Francisco
4 places
arts & culture11 places
10 places
parks & leisure9 places
6 places
industry & modern era9 places
7 places
crime & dark history7 places
7 places
faith & churches4 places
6 places
guilds & trade7 places
Boston scorecard →
The cradle of revolution
San Francisco scorecard →
The gold rush city