Not long after major sporting events drew massive crowds to downtown San Jose and San Francisco, a survey ranked the two cities near the bottom of a national list for vibrancy.
However, local leaders and business experts say the data is outdated and does not reflect a recent surge in money, music and partying.
According to a 2025 survey of local residents by Gensler Research, San Jose ranked 29th out of 34 major cities in vibrancy, with San Francisco performing similarly poorly…