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