City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
New Orleans vs New York City
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, New York City leads 4–2. Character is a different question: New Orleans is the creole port; New York City is the island of arrivals.
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| What we measure | New Orleans | New York City | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 83 | 369 | New York City |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 208 | 291 | New Orleans |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 15 | 99 | New York City |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 34 | 75 | New York City |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 25 | 20 | New Orleans |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 0 | 2 | New York City |
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: New Orleans in orange, New York City in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
New OrleansNew York City
20 places
arts & culture122 places
9 places
parks & leisure57 places
26 places
legends & myths41 places
6 places
industry & modern era40 places
9 places
crime & dark history35 places
11 places
faith & churches24 places
13 places
guilds & trade23 places
New Orleans scorecard →
The creole port
New York City scorecard →
The island of arrivals