Boston
232 km²
New York
783 km²
USA
USA
Area Comparison
Boston is 3.4x smaller than New York
Population Comparison
Boston has 12.3x fewer people than New York
In terms of area, New York is 3.4x the size of Boston. New York spans 783 km² (302 mi²) while Boston covers 232 km² (90 mi²) — a difference of 551 km². You could fit Boston inside New York approximately 3 times.
To put Boston's size in perspective, its area of 232 km² is roughly the same size as Amsterdam. Meanwhile, New York at 783 km² is about 1.1x smaller than Berlin.
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. New York, by comparison, equals about 110,000 American football fields, 13 times the area of Manhattan, or 7 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
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States. It is located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with its respective county. It is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area.
Nicknamed "New York City", New York has an area of 783 km² and is home to 8.3 million people. The city dates back to 1624. Visitors come for Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and much more. Getting around is easy with the NYC Subway.
New York City sits on one of the world's largest natural harbors, which shaped its rise as America's commercial gateway.
Looking beyond city limits, the New York metropolitan area covers 17,405 km², which is 1.5x larger than greater Boston at 11,700 km². The New York metro area is also more populous, with 20.1 million people compared to 4.9 million.
Boston has a population density of 2,931 people per km² — a moderately dense city. New York, with 10,651 people per km², is an extremely dense urban environment. New York is dramatically more crowded, with 3.6x the population density.
Both Boston and New York 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 New York experiences humid subtropical conditions.
Size Ratio
Boston fits inside New York ~3 times
Density Gap
New York is 3.6x 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).
New York covers 783 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Hamburg (755 km²), Bangalore (741 km²), Kyoto (828 km²), Singapore (733 km²), or Santiago (838 km²).
The straight-line distance from Boston to New York is 306 km (190 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~52m.
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