City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
Chicago vs San Francisco
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Chicago leads 4–1 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: Chicago is the city rebuilt after the fire; San Francisco is the gold rush city.
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| What we measure | Chicago | San Francisco | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 94 | 60 | Chicago |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 293 | 329 | Chicago |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 11 | 4 | Chicago |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 37 | 23 | Chicago |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 22 | 22 | tie |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 2 | 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: Chicago in orange, San Francisco in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
ChicagoSan Francisco
33 places
arts & culture11 places
16 places
crime & dark history7 places
13 places
faith & churches4 places
13 places
parks & leisure9 places
12 places
legends & myths1 place
5 places
industry & modern era9 places
6 places
guilds & trade7 places
Chicago scorecard →
The city rebuilt after the fire
San Francisco scorecard →
The gold rush city