San FranciscoThe gold rush city
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 16 walked routes: in San Francisco, you pass a place with a story every 329 metres.
Ranked #9 of 16 United States big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · scored on 7 of 8 measures · how we measure
Depth39/100
60 places with a story
4 historical figures · 1h of stories
Density43/100
a story every 329 m
median along a route
Character45/100
arts & culture
typical story: 1929 · post-war
Pulse43/100
Instagrammability 23/100
peak month: Aug
San Francisco, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | San Francisco | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 60 | 44 | #28 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 4 | 26 | #49 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.8h | 47 | #23 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 329 m | 43 | #59 of 71 | Williamsburg · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 445 yrs | 45 | #51 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 23/100 | 23 | #41 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 22 in 100 | 63 | #17 of 69 | Houston · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 6% | not scored here: most visitors write English too, so the measure cannot tell them apart | #33 of 47 | Venice (Italy) · 97% |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. San Francisco's 60 on places with a story scores 44, and it scores 44 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). San Francisco is scored on 7 of the 8 measures: its overall score averages those 7, and the greyed measures stay out of the average rather than counting against it. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
The medal table
What San Francisco wins
- Most industry & modern era among the United States' big cities· 15% of its stories
Won against the other big cities of United States in the 2026 edition. See the full table on the country page.
Character
What its stories are about
- arts & culture18%
- industry & modern era15%
- parks & leisure15%
- crime & dark history12%
- guilds & trade12%
Out of San Francisco's 60 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- Post-war40%
- 19th century28%
- Early 20th century21%
- Contemporary9%
- Early modern2%
When San Francisco's stories happen (78% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 5 recent years). Peak: Aug.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English94%
- Spanish2%
- Dutch2%
- German1%
- French1%
Language of 500+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
60 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
Bi the way...the bisexual flag was designed and unveiled in 1998, hoping to give the community visibility amongst society and the LGBTQ+…
The South End Rowing club was founded in 1873 near Third and Berry—the south end of town. In the century and a…
Between 1894-1949, the Old Chinese Telephone Exchange was used by people to call and connect to others. It had 37 telephone subscribers…
Depth
Figures you meet on San Francisco's streets
Harvey Milk
at 3 places
Toad Hall · Castro Theatre · Harvey Milk Plaza
Janis Joplin
at 3 places
Finnegans Wake · The Panhandle · Janis Joplin’s apartment
Ulysses S. Grant
at 2 places
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral · Juniper Serra Monument
Ryan White
at 1 place
National AIDS Memorial Grove
Depth
Every San Francisco place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk San Francisco's stories yourself
Three of 16 routes here. See everything in San Francisco
Where next after San Francisco?
New York CityThe island of arrivals4126 km away · a story every 291 m
Los AngelesThe city of stars on the pavement559 km away · a story every 290 m
San DiegoThe exposition city739 km away · a story every 260 m
Portland, ORThe city at the confluence859 km away · a story every 247 m
New OrleansThe creole port3096 km away · a story every 208 m
ChicagoThe city rebuilt after the fire2982 km away · a story every 293 mHow does San Francisco compare?
Put San Francisco head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
- San Francisco vs New York City
- San Francisco vs New Orleans
- San Francisco vs Chicago
- San Francisco vs Washington D.C.
- San Francisco vs Philadelphia
- San Francisco vs Boston
- San Francisco vs Orlando
- San Francisco vs Portland, OR
- San Francisco vs Houston
- San Francisco vs Jersey City
- San Francisco vs Los Angeles
- San Francisco vs San Diego
- San Francisco vs Seattle
- San Francisco vs Atlanta
- San Francisco vs Austin
Quick answers
- What is San Francisco like to explore on foot?
- San Francisco has 60 places with a story across 16 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 329 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards arts & culture and industry & modern era.
- Which historical period defines San Francisco?
- 40% of San Francisco's dated stories come from the post-war period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1575.
- When do people visit San Francisco?
- Player activity in San Francisco peaks in Aug, with a typical 27% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 5 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in San Francisco: 1,000+ plays and 500+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in San Francisco, you pass a place with a story every 329 metres on average.
- 40% of San Francisco's dated stories come from the post-war period.
- San Francisco's typical story happens in 1929: the median year across its dated stories, which span 445 years.
- 6% of San Francisco's written player reviews are in a language other than English (from 500+ reviews).
- Roughly 22 of every 100 plays in San Francisco is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- San Francisco's play season peaks in Aug; a typical 27% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 5 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
San Francisco ranks #59 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
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<img src="https://questoapp.com/api/og/city-index-badge?country=united-states&slug=san-francisco" alt="San Francisco ranks #59 of 80 in the Questo City Stories Index" width="320" height="100">
</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know San Francisco. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.