San Diego vs San Francisco
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, San Francisco leads 3–2 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: San Diego is the exposition city; San Francisco is the gold rush city.
Change the matchup
Places with a story
spots where a route tells you what happened there
San Diego
50
San Francisco
60
San Francisco leads
How often you pass a story
metres from one story to the next; fewer is better
San Diego
260
San Francisco
329
San Diego leads
Historical figures
real people you meet in its stories
San Diego
1
San Francisco
4
San Francisco leads
Instagrammability
score /100, on the index’s fixed scale
San Diego
54
San Francisco
23
San Diego leads
Group outings
of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+
San Diego
23
San Francisco
22
Tie
International visitors
% of player reviews written in a foreign language
San Diego
1
San Francisco
6
San Francisco leads
| What we measure | San Diego | San Francisco | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 50 | 60 | San Francisco |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 260 | 329 | San Diego |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 1 | 4 | San Francisco |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 54 | 23 | San Diego |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 23 | 22 | tie |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 1 | 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: San Diego in orange, San Francisco in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
San Diego scorecard
The exposition city
San Francisco scorecard
The gold rush city
