City comparisonOctober 2026
New York vs Philadelphia
New York and Philadelphia compared from 223 travel creators' videos and 1,901 mapped spots: what they eat, how far one video walks and what closes when.
We mapped every place in 894 travel-creator videos filmed in New York (190 creators, 1,541 spots) and 240 videos in Philadelphia (33 creators, 360 spots), then compared what creators eat, how far one video walks, what the spots charge and when they close. A difference is only called when it holds at p < 0.01 with a 1.3x gap.
The short version
- Mondays hurt more in Philadelphia: 31% of its food spots are shut, against 12% in New York.
- Sundays hurt more in Philadelphia: 17% of its food spots are shut, against 8% in New York.
- New York eats later: 59% of its food spots stay open past 10 pm on a weeknight, against 36% in Philadelphia.
- Creators' food spots run dearer in New York: 16% are "$$$" or more on Google, against 8% in Philadelphia.
Also worth knowing (descriptive, not a comparison):
- One base in New York, Bowery, puts 23% of its filmed spots within a 15-minute walk.
- One base in Philadelphia, Center City East, puts 25% of its filmed spots within a 15-minute walk.
- The named spot most New York creators agree on: Katz's Delicatessen (34 creators).
- The named spot most Philadelphia creators agree on: Angelo's Pizzeria (11 creators).
How far you walk
In a typical New York video the spots sit within 1.5 km of their middle; in Philadelphia, 1.2 km. The gap isn't one we'd call (p = 0.18). 78% of New York videos stay walkable (2.5 km) against 82% of Philadelphia's (a gap, but p = 0.45: not one we call).
One video maps a median of 1 spot in New York and 1 in Philadelphia.
What closes when
- Monday: 12% of New York's food spots closed, 31% of Philadelphia's (p < 0.001)
- Sunday: 8% of New York's food spots closed, 17% of Philadelphia's (p < 0.001)
- Open past 10 pm on a weeknight: 59% of food spots in New York, 36% in Philadelphia (p < 0.001)
From Google opening hours of the 1,019 food spots in New York and 272 in Philadelphia that have full-week hours.
Where creators agree
10% of New York's mapped spots were filmed by three or more creators, against 6% of Philadelphia's; 77% and 83% are one creator's pick.
In New York: Katz's Delicatessen (34 creators); Levain Bakery – Original Location, 74th St, NYC (18 creators); Mama's TOO! Pizzeria West Village (14 creators); Apollo Bagels (13 creators); L'industrie Pizzeria - Williamsburg (13 creators); Times Square (13 creators). 16 more are on the locked New York map (12 to eat · 2 to see and do · 2 to shop).
In Philadelphia: Angelo's Pizzeria (11 creators); Pat's King of Steaks (9 creators); Geno's Steaks (8 creators); Reading Terminal Market (8 creators); John's Roast Pork (6 creators); Middle Child Clubhouse (5 creators). 4 more are on the locked Philadelphia map (4 to eat).
Where to stay
- New York: Bowery, by Katz's Delicatessen: 354 filmed spots within a 15-minute walk (23% of New York's), from 118 creators.
- Philadelphia: Center City East, by Reading Terminal Market: 90 filmed spots within a 15-minute walk (25% of Philadelphia's), from 25 creators.
What it costs
On Google's price levels, 31% of New York's food spots are "$" and 16% "$$$" or more; in Philadelphia, 39% and 8%. The "$$$" gap is one we call (p = 0.003). The typical spot is $$ in both.
How we measured this
Places come from Varedelo's maps of each creator video, grouped into kinds and assigned to a city by distance from its centre. Dishes come from each video's dish list and are counted by creators. Spot-level tests treat spots as independent, which overstates certainty when spots cluster inside one video, so we only call a difference at p < 0.01 with a 1.3x gap. Opening hours and price levels are Google's; hours that cover only part of the week are left out. Spots counted but not named are part of Varedelo's locked city maps. Covers the creators Varedelo maps, not all of YouTube. Data as of 2026-10-30.
The numbers
What creators film
New YorkPhiladelphia
χ²(8) = 23.2, p = 0.0031, Cramér’s V = 0.12 on 1,732 spots. * = a difference we call (p < 0.01, 3+ points, 1.3×); hover a gap for its 95% interval.
| Kind | New York spots | share | Philadelphia spots | share | Gap, pts (95% CI) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street food & casual | 313 | 22% | 64 | 20% | 2.2 (-2.6 to 7.1) | 0.379 |
| Cafés, bakeries & sweets | 239 | 17% | 67 | 21% | -3.9 (-8.8 to 0.9) | 0.095 |
| Markets | 43 | 3% | 16 | 5% | -1.9 (-4.5 to 0.6) | 0.084 |
| Restaurants | 602 | 43% | 152 | 47% | -4.7 (-10.7 to 1.4) | 0.126 |
| Sights & landmarks | 44 | 3% | 4 | 1% | 1.9 (0.4 to 3.4) | 0.065 |
| Museums & culture | 30 | 2% | 4 | 1% | 0.9 (-0.5 to 2.3) | 0.305 |
| Nature & outdoors | 45 | 3% | 2 | 1% | 2.6 (1.3 to 3.8) | 0.011 |
| Fun & entertainment | 7 | 0% | 3 | 1% | -0.4 (-1.6 to 0.7) | 0.349 |
| Shopping | 62 | 4% | 5 | 2% | 2.8 (1.1 to 4.6) | 0.017 |
| Hotels & stays | 8 | 1% | 2 | 1% | -0.1 (-1.0 to 0.9) | 0.905 |
| Getting around | 18 | 1% | 2 | 1% | 0.7 (-0.4 to 1.7) | 0.323 |
How far one video walks
Each mark is a video: the median distance of its spots from their middle (log scale). The band is walkable, 2.5 km.
What closes when
New York foodPhiladelphia food
Share of creator-filmed places closed all day, from Google opening hours (full-week hours only).
The rest of the maps
New York: 16 more spots three or more creators filmed (12 to eat · 2 to see and do · 2 to shop) are on the locked New York map. Unlock New York
Philadelphia: 4 more spots three or more creators filmed (4 to eat) are on the locked Philadelphia map. Unlock Philadelphia
Written from the numbers only: a difference is stated when it holds at p < 0.01 with a 1.3× gap, counting creators, not videos. More city trends: how cities compare.