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.
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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