San Francisco ranks last among 63 cities in downtown recovery, data shows
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- An ABC7 News Data Team analysis of 63 cities' downtown recoveries found San Francisco ranked last.
For 25 years, "Union Square 4K" has been a fixture downtown with Francisco Gonzalez working here for 10. Since the pandemic, he says business hasn't been the same.
"Slowly we've seen some increase on the tourists but not really," said Gonzalez.
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"It's tough," he continued.
Especially when compared to how other cities are doing.
ABC7 News Data Analysts looked at cities nationwide and found San Francisco ranked last out of 63 cities' downtown recoveries.
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"Metrics don't lie," said Gonzalez.
Rachel Michelin is president and CEO of the California Retailers Association.
"Unfortunately, I'm not surprised," said Michelin.
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"It's sad, you know San Francisco used to be the premiere place to go."
During the week of April 10 this year, the downtown area of San Francisco was at about 29% of its activity during the same period in 2019, while other Bay Area cities were more vibrant.
The downtown area of San Jose was at about 75% of its activity and the downtown area of Oakland was at about 48% of its activity, during the same period in 2019.
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Vacancies may account for some of the differences. Office vacancy in the broader San Francisco Metro Area nearly tripled, from a 6.3% vacancy rate in Q1 2019 to a 17.2% vacancy rate in Q1 2023.
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"Maybe there's not incentives for companies to come back," said Gonzalez.
"My opinion - I'll say it has something to do with the administration you know," he continued.
Last week, Mayor London Breed announced a series of upcoming events in Chinatown to attract residents and visitors to shop and dine in the neighborhood this summer.
"That is why we're here, to shine a light on Chinatown in a way to remind people what makes San Francisco so special," said Mayor Breed.
Michelin says she believes safety is a key factor in San Francisco's downtown recovery.
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"I was just in San Diego last month and people are out running in the streets, you feel safe as you walk around," said Michelin.
"And I think that that is not felt when you go to San Francisco," she continued.
In his interview, Gonzalez also mentioned the SoCal city.
"Last year, I went to San Diego. Looked pretty clean at least," said Gonzalez.
They're not wrong, our data analysts found San Diego made the top 10 list for downtown recoveries as of April 10, ranking seventh on the list.
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Two other California cities, Bakersfield and Fresno made it to the top 5.
"We need to think differently about how we approach these issues because what we've been doing in the past isn't working," said Michelin.
An ever growing challenge for city leaders as San Francisco looks to flourish again.
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