Houston
1,725 km²
Xi'an
10,097 km²
United States
People's Republic of China
Area Comparison
Houston is 5.9x smaller than Xi'an
Population Comparison
Houston has 5.6x fewer people than Xi'an
Xi'an is significantly larger, covering 5.9 times the area of Houston. Xi'an spans 10,097 km² (3,898 mi²) while Houston covers 1,725 km² (666 mi²) — a difference of 8,372 km². You could fit Houston inside Xi'an approximately 5 times.
To put Houston's size in perspective, its area of 1,725 km² is roughly the same size as London. Meanwhile, Xi'an at 10,097 km² is about 1.6x the size of Shanghai.
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. Xi'an works out to about 1,400,000 American football fields, 170 times the area of Manhattan, or 96 times the area of Paris.
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.
Xi'an is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern China. Its total population was 12.95 million in the 2020 census, including an urban population of 9.28 million.
Also known as "Ancient Capital", Xi'an has an area of 10,097 km² and is home to 12.9 million people. Visitors come for Terracotta Army, Xi'an City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and much more.
Xi'an's 2020 census recorded 12.95 million residents, making it the most populous city in Northwestern China.
Houston has a population density of 1,333 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Xi'an, with 1,283 people per km², is a relatively spread-out city. Both cities have comparable density, though Houston is slightly more compact.
Size Ratio
Houston fits inside Xi'an ~5 times
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).
Xi'an covers 10,097 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Melbourne (9,993 km²), Wuhan (8,569 km²), Sydney (12,368 km²), Guangzhou (7,434 km²), or Chengdu (14,378 km²).
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The straight-line distance from Houston to Xi'an is 12,453 km (7,738 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~15h 9m.
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