City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
Houston vs New Orleans
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, New Orleans leads 3–2. Character is a different question: Houston is the city on the bayou; New Orleans is the creole port.
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| What we measure | Houston | New Orleans | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 31 | 83 | New Orleans |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 340 | 208 | New Orleans |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 1 | 15 | New Orleans |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 43 | 34 | Houston |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 32 | 25 | Houston |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | — | 0 | New Orleans |
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: Houston in orange, New Orleans in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
HoustonNew Orleans
3 places
legends & myths26 places
9 places
arts & culture20 places
0 places
guilds & trade13 places
1 place
faith & churches11 places
1 place
crime & dark history9 places
8 places
parks & leisure9 places
Houston scorecard →
The city on the bayou
New Orleans scorecard →
The creole port