Houston
1,725 km²
San Francisco
121 km²
United States
USA
Area Comparison
Houston is 14.3x larger than San Francisco
Population Comparison
Houston has 2.6x more people than San Francisco
Yes — Houston is 14.3x larger than San Francisco by area. Houston spans 1,725 km² (666 mi²) while San Francisco covers 121 km² (47 mi²) — a difference of 1,604 km². You could fit San Francisco inside Houston approximately 14 times.
To put Houston's size in perspective, its area of 1,725 km² is roughly the same size as London. Meanwhile, San Francisco at 121 km² is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper).
Picture Houston another way: its area is large enough to fit about 242,000 American football fields, 29 times the area of Manhattan, or 16 times the area of Paris. San Francisco, by comparison, equals about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park.
Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census. The Greater Houston metropolitan area, at 7.8 million residents, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the nation and second-most populous in Texas. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is the county seat of Harris County.
Known as "Space City", Houston covers 1,725 km² with a population of 2.3 million. The city was established in 1836. Houston is known for NASA Johnson Space Center, Space Center Houston, Houston Astros, among other attractions.
Houston is the fourth-most populous US city with 2.3 million residents at the 2020 census, leading the entire South.
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.
Also known as "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.
Houston has a population density of 1,333 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. San Francisco, with 7,190 people per km², is a densely populated city. San Francisco is dramatically more crowded, with 5.4x the population density.
Size Ratio
San Francisco fits inside Houston ~14 times
Density Gap
San Francisco is 5.4x more densely populated
Houston covers 1,725 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Riyadh (1,798 km²), Johannesburg (1,644 km²), Bogotá (1,578 km²), London (1,572 km²), or Bangkok (1,569 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 Houston to San Francisco is 2,644 km (1,643 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~3h 37m.
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