How Big Is San Francisco?

San Francisco Size Overview

San Francisco covers an area of 121 km² (47 mi²) in USA, North America. City and county in California, US. The city is often called "The City by the Bay". To put this in perspective, San Francisco is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper). In more relatable units, that's about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park.

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.

With a population of 0.9 million (4.7 million in the metropolitan area), San Francisco has a population density of 7,190 people per km². The greater San Francisco metropolitan area extends to 6,984 km².

San Francisco has a history stretching back to 1776. The city is renowned for Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Cable cars, and Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate, with summer temperatures averaging 17°C and winters around 10°C. The city's main public transit system is the BART & Muni.