Is Ann Arbor, Michigan or San Francisco more urban?

San Francisco is much more urban than Ann Arbor by the measures you listed. It is far denser, has a much larger and more continuous city core, and offers extensive public transit through Muni, BART, buses, and regional connections. Ann Arbor is very walkable around downtown and the University of Michigan, but it still feels much more like a compact college town than a major city.

If you want a true big-city environment, San Francisco is the one that will feel urban day to day. Neighborhoods are tightly packed, many areas are active well beyond campus, and it is realistic to rely on transit or walking for a lot of daily life. The city also has a broader mix of business districts, residential neighborhoods, nightlife, and cultural institutions that create that constant city feeling.

Ann Arbor fits a student who wants walkability without the scale and intensity of a major city. The downtown and campus areas are lively, easy to navigate on foot, and have restaurants, shops, and buses that make student life convenient. But outside the central area, it spreads out quickly, and the overall environment is quieter, less dense, and more defined by the university.

So if “urban” means dense streets, strong transit, and a clear big-city atmosphere, San Francisco is the closer match by a wide margin. If you mean a place where you can walk most places as a student but still feel grounded in a college-town setting, that description fits Ann Arbor much better.