Do movies and TV shows give cities a fair shake?

American cities have long been featured in influential television shows and media, but do popular media such as Chicago Fire or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia accurately depict such places? The Harris Poll sought to investigate that exact question from the perspectives of those who know such cities well: namely, those who have lived in or visited cities often depicted in popular media such as movies and TV. Here are the principal findings:

Most U.S. adults who have been to major metropolitan areas in the U.S. think how those cities are portrayed in the media are fairly accurate and have a positive impact on the cities’ reputation.

Three quarters of U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited New York City (76%), Los Angeles (77%), and Washington, DC (76%) agree that depictions of those cities in popular media (e.g., movies, TV shows) are accurate. Seven in ten (69%) think that depictions of New York in popular media have a positive impact on the city’s reputation. Those numbers are exactly the same for LA and Washington, DC. Half (51%) agree that national reporting depicts New York and Los Angeles as more violent than it actually is, whereas only 42% think the same for Washington, DC.

While still viewed mostly positively, Chicago’s portrayal in the media is less frequently viewed as positive than other major American metropolitan areas. That said, current Cook County residents more frequently report pessimism about how Chicago is depicted in media than those who have only visited the city.

Seven in ten (71%) U.S. adults who have only visited Chicago agree that depictions of the city in popular media (e.g., movies, TV shows) are accurate. In comparison, just over half (56%) of current Cook County residents agree that depictions of the Chicago area in popular media (e.g., movies, TV shows are accurate.

Three in five (58%) U.S. adults who have only visited Chicago agree that depictions of Chicago in popular media have a positive impact on the city’s reputation. Half (52%) of current Cook County residents agree that depictions of the Chicago area in popular media (e.g., movies, TV shows) have a positive impact on the city’s reputation.

Less than half (46%) of U.S. adults who have only visited Chicago agree that national reporting (e.g., news stories, articles) depicts the city as more violent than it actually is. Three in five (61%) current Cook County residents agree that national reporting depicts the Chicago area as more violent than it actually is.

Cities with a strong national reputation for tourism such as Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles are likely to be recommended as a place to visit by a notable sum of residents and visitors. Major metropolitan areas with identities built less around tourism, such as Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia lag behind.

Note: For the data points below, respondents were asked on a scale of 0-10 how likely they are to recommend cities as places to visit (with 0 being not at all likely and 10 being extremely likely). Respondents that answered from 0-6 were categorized as detractors, those who answered 7-8 were categorized as passive, and those who answered 9-10 were categorized as promoters.

Three in ten (29%) U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited Chicago are promoters of Chicago as a place to visit. A similar number (28%) are passive about Chicago as a place to visit. Two in five (42%) U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited Chicago are detractors of Chicago as a place to visit.

Nearly half (46%) of U.S. adults that have visited or lived in Las Vegas are promoters of Las Vegas as a place to visit.

Two in five (38%) U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited New York City are promoters of New York City as a place to visit. A similar number (37%) of U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited Los Angeles are promoters of Los Angeles as a place to visit. Two in five (38%) U.S. adults who have either visited or lived in Washington, DC are promoters of the city as a place to visit.

Three in ten (28%) U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited Atlanta are promoters of Atlanta as a place to visit. A quarter (26%) of U.S. adults who have either lived in or visited Philadelphia are promoters of Philadelphia as a place to visit.

These surveys were conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll from September 13, 2023 to September 20, 2023 among 1,000 Cook County, IL residents, ages 18+, and from September 29, 2023 to October 02 2023 among 1,059 U.S. adults, ages 18+. Figures were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions within the US population. Respondents for this survey were selected from a pool of potential respondents who have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll’s online research.