Houston
1,725 km²
Sydney
12,368 km²
United States
Australia
Area Comparison
Houston is 7.2x smaller than Sydney
Population Comparison
Houston has 2.3x fewer people than Sydney
Yes — Sydney is 7.2x larger than Houston by area. Sydney spans 12,368 km² (4,775 mi²) while Houston covers 1,725 km² (666 mi²) — a difference of 10,643 km². You could fit Houston inside Sydney approximately 7 times.
To put Houston's size in perspective, its area of 1,725 km² is roughly the same size as London. Meanwhile, Sydney at 12,368 km² is about 2.0x the size of Shanghai.
In more relatable units, Houston's 1,725 km² is about 242,000 American football fields, 29 times the area of Manhattan, or 16 times the area of Paris. Sydney works out to about 1,700,000 American football fields, 120 times the area of Paris, or 100 times the area of San Francisco.
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.
Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and is the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and south-west.
Nicknamed "Sydneysiders", Sydney has an area of 12,368 km² and is home to 5.3 million people. It was established in 1788. Visitors come for Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Sydney Trains.
Sydney stretches roughly 80 km from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west.
Houston has a population density of 1,333 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Sydney, with 429 people per km², is a low-density, sprawling urban area. Houston is dramatically more crowded, with 3.1x the population density.
Size Ratio
Houston fits inside Sydney ~7 times
Density Gap
Houston is 3.1x 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).
Sydney covers 12,368 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Chengdu (14,378 km²), Xi'an (10,097 km²), Melbourne (9,993 km²), Brisbane (15,826 km²), or Beijing (16,411 km²).
The straight-line distance from Houston to Sydney is 13,819 km (8,587 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~16h 45m.
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