Boston
232 km²
Los Angeles
1,302 km²
USA
USA
Area Comparison
Boston is 5.6x smaller than Los Angeles
Population Comparison
Boston has 5.8x fewer people than Los Angeles
Yes — Los Angeles is 5.6x larger than Boston by area. Los Angeles spans 1,302 km² (503 mi²) while Boston covers 232 km² (90 mi²) — a difference of 1,070 km². You could fit Boston inside Los Angeles approximately 5 times.
To put Boston's size in perspective, its area of 232 km² is roughly the same size as Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Los Angeles at 1,302 km² is about 1.2x smaller than London.
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. Los Angeles works out to about 182,000 American football fields, 22 times the area of Manhattan, or 12 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
Los Angeles (LA) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3.88 million residents within the city limits as of 2024, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, behind New York City, and the largest city in the Western United States. The city has an ethnically and culturally diverse population, and is the principal city of a metropolitan area of 12.9 million people (2024).
Also known as "The City of Angels", Los Angeles has an area of 1,302 km² and is home to 4.0 million people. The city dates back to 1781. Visitors come for Hollywood Sign, Santa Monica Pier, Beverly Hills, and much more. Getting around is easy with the LA Metro.
Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the United States, home to 3.88 million residents within city limits as of 2024.
Looking beyond city limits, the Los Angeles metropolitan area covers 12,562 km², which is 1.1x larger than greater Boston at 11,700 km². The Los Angeles metro area is also more populous, with 13.2 million people compared to 4.9 million.
Boston has a population density of 2,931 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Los Angeles, with 3,049 people per km², is a moderately dense city. Both cities have comparable density, though Los Angeles is slightly more compact.
Both Boston and Los Angeles are in USA, making this a domestic size comparison that reveals how differently cities can develop within the same nation.
Boston has a humid continental climate while Los Angeles experiences Mediterranean conditions. When it's noon in Boston, it's 9:00 AM in Los Angeles — a 3-hour time difference.
Size Ratio
Boston fits inside Los Angeles ~5 times
Time Difference
3 hours apart
History
Boston is ~151 years older
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).
Los Angeles covers 1,302 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Rome (1,285 km²), Phoenix (1,341 km²), Rio de Janeiro (1,221 km²), San Antonio (1,209 km²), or Lagos (1,172 km²).
The straight-line distance from Boston to Los Angeles is 4,170 km (2,591 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~5h 24m.
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