Boston
232 km²
Cape Town
2,455 km²
USA
South Africa
Area Comparison
Boston is 10.6x smaller than Cape Town
Population Comparison
Boston has 5.6x fewer people than Cape Town
Cape Town is significantly larger, covering 10.6 times the area of Boston. Cape Town spans 2,455 km² (948 mi²) while Boston covers 232 km² (90 mi²) — a difference of 2,223 km². You could fit Boston inside Cape Town approximately 10 times.
To put Boston's size in perspective, its area of 232 km² is roughly the same size as Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Cape Town at 2,455 km² is roughly the same size as Moscow.
Boston's footprint is roughly about 32,000 American football fields, 110 times the area of Monaco, or 68 times the area of Central Park — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. For Cape Town, that's about 344,000 American football fields, 42 times the area of Manhattan, or 23 times the area of Paris.
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It serves as a cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. Boston has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia.
Known as "Beantown", Boston covers 232 km² with a population of 0.7 million. The city was established in 1630. Boston is known for Fenway Park, Freedom Trail, Harvard University, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the MBTA (The T).
Boston covers just 125 km2 yet serves as the cultural and financial heart of all New England
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Also known as "The Mother City", Cape Town has an area of 2,455 km² and is home to 3.8 million people. It was established in 1652. Visitors come for Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, and much more.
Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city, founded in 1652 and home to the seat of the national Parliament.
Boston has a population density of 2,931 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Cape Town, with 1,540 people per km², is a relatively spread-out city. Boston is noticeably denser, packing 1.9 times more people per square kilometer.
Size Ratio
Boston fits inside Cape Town ~10 times
Density Gap
Boston is 1.9x more densely populated
Boston covers 232 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Osaka (225 km²), Kuala Lumpur (243 km²), Amsterdam (219 km²), Helsinki (214 km²), or Edinburgh (259 km²).
Cape Town covers 2,455 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Moscow (2,511 km²), Lima (2,672 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), or Shenzhen (1,997 km²).
The straight-line distance from Boston to Cape Town is 12,426 km (7,721 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~15h 7m.
Want to explore more? Compare city sizes for any two cities worldwide, or share your location live with friends.