City Stories Index · United States · 2026 edition
New Orleans vs Philadelphia
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, New Orleans leads 3–2 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: New Orleans is the creole port; Philadelphia is the city where the republic began.
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| What we measure | New Orleans | Philadelphia | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 83 | 58 | New Orleans |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 208 | 329 | New Orleans |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 15 | 13 | New Orleans |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 34 | 90 | Philadelphia |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 25 | 24 | tie |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 0 | 1 | Philadelphia |
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, Philadelphia in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
New OrleansPhiladelphia
26 places
legends & myths6 places
20 places
arts & culture3 places
13 places
guilds & trade6 places
11 places
faith & churches7 places
9 places
crime & dark history9 places
9 places
parks & leisure0 places
New Orleans scorecard →
The creole port
Philadelphia scorecard →
The city where the republic began