City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
Chicago vs Scottsdale
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Chicago leads 2–1. Character is a different question: Chicago is the city rebuilt after the fire; Scottsdale is the desert resort town.
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| What we measure | Chicago | Scottsdale | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 94 | 25 | Chicago |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 293 | 152 | Scottsdale |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 11 | 1 | Chicago |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 37 | — | Chicago |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 22 | — | Chicago |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 2 | — | Chicago |
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, Scottsdale in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
ChicagoScottsdale
33 places
arts & culture13 places
16 places
crime & dark history0 places
13 places
faith & churches2 places
13 places
parks & leisure2 places
12 places
legends & myths0 places
6 places
guilds & trade5 places
5 places
industry & modern era3 places
Chicago scorecard →
The city rebuilt after the fire
Scottsdale scorecard →
The desert resort town