Pittsburgh vs San Francisco
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, they tie 3–3. Character is a different question: Pittsburgh is the steel city; San Francisco is the gold rush city.
Change the matchup
Places with a story
spots where a route tells you what happened there
Pittsburgh
24
San Francisco
60
San Francisco leads
How often you pass a story
metres from one story to the next; fewer is better
Pittsburgh
236
San Francisco
329
Pittsburgh leads
Historical figures
real people you meet in its stories
Pittsburgh
3
San Francisco
4
San Francisco leads
Instagrammability
score /100, on the index’s fixed scale
Pittsburgh
100
San Francisco
23
Pittsburgh leads
Group outings
of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+
Pittsburgh
28
San Francisco
22
Pittsburgh leads
International visitors
% of player reviews written in a foreign language
Pittsburgh
0
San Francisco
6
San Francisco leads
| What we measure | Pittsburgh | San Francisco | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 24 | 60 | San Francisco |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 236 | 329 | Pittsburgh |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 3 | 4 | San Francisco |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 100 | 23 | Pittsburgh |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 28 | 22 | Pittsburgh |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 0 | 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: Pittsburgh in orange, San Francisco in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
Pittsburgh scorecard
The steel city
San Francisco scorecard
The gold rush city
