Cairo
3,085 km²
San Francisco
121 km²
Egypt
USA
Area Comparison
Cairo is 25.5x larger than San Francisco
Population Comparison
Cairo has 11.6x more people than San Francisco
In terms of area, Cairo is 25.5x the size of San Francisco. Cairo spans 3,085 km² (1,191 mi²) while San Francisco covers 121 km² (47 mi²) — a difference of 2,964 km². You could fit San Francisco inside Cairo approximately 25 times.
To put Cairo's size in perspective, its area of 3,085 km² is about 1.2x the size of Luxembourg. Meanwhile, San Francisco at 121 km² is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper).
In more relatable units, Cairo's 3,085 km² is about 432,000 American football fields, 52 times the area of Manhattan, or 29 times the area of Paris. For San Francisco, that's about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park.
Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate. It is home to more than 9.8 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. The Greater Cairo metropolitan area is one of the largest in the world by population with over 22 million people. Areas of what would become Cairo were inhabited from pre-dynastic and early-dynastic ancient Egypt c.
Known as "The City of a Thousand Minarets", Cairo covers 3,085 km² with a population of 10.1 million. The city was established in 969. Cairo is known for Pyramids of Giza, Great Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Cairo Metro.
Cairo is home to more than 9.8 million people and is part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa and the Arab world.
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 826,079 in 2025. Among U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income, second by population density, and sixth by aggregate income as of 2023.
Often called "The City by the Bay", San Francisco has an area of 121 km² and is home to 0.9 million people. It was established in 1776. Visitors come for Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Cable cars, and much more. Getting around is easy with the BART & Muni.
San Francisco ranks first by per capita income among all US cities with 300,000+ residents as of 2023.
Looking beyond city limits, the San Francisco metropolitan area covers 6,984 km², which is 1.1x larger than greater Cairo at 6,588 km². The Cairo metro area is also more populous, with 21.3 million people compared to 4.7 million.
Cairo has a population density of 3,274 people per km² — a moderately dense city. San Francisco, with 7,190 people per km², is a densely populated city. San Francisco is noticeably denser, packing 2.2 times more people per square kilometer.
This comparison spans continents — Cairo in Africa versus San Francisco in North America. Despite the geographic distance, comparing their sizes reveals surprising insights about how cities grow worldwide.
Cairo has a hot desert climate while San Francisco experiences Mediterranean conditions. Summers are notably different: Cairo averages 29°C compared to 17°C in San Francisco. When it's noon in Cairo, it's 2:00 AM in San Francisco — a 10-hour time difference.
Size Ratio
San Francisco fits inside Cairo ~25 times
Density Gap
San Francisco is 2.2x more densely populated
Time Difference
10 hours apart
History
Cairo is ~807 years older
Cairo covers 3,085 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Hanoi (3,359 km²), Karachi (3,527 km²), Lima (2,672 km²), Moscow (2,511 km²), or Cape Town (2,455 km²).
San Francisco covers 121 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Vancouver (115 km²), Paris (105 km²), Miami (143 km²), Barcelona (101 km²), or Lisbon (100 km²).
The straight-line distance from Cairo to San Francisco is 11,992 km (7,451 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~14h 36m.
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