Montreal
498 km²
San Francisco
121 km²
Canada
USA
Area Comparison
Montreal is 4.1x larger than San Francisco
Population Comparison
Montreal has 2.0x more people than San Francisco
In terms of area, Montreal is 4.1x the size of San Francisco. Montreal spans 498 km² (192 mi²) while San Francisco covers 121 km² (47 mi²) — a difference of 377 km². You could fit San Francisco inside Montreal approximately 4 times.
To put Montreal's size in perspective, its area of 498 km² is about 1.2x smaller than Seoul. Meanwhile, San Francisco at 121 km² is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper).
Montreal's footprint is roughly about 70,000 American football fields, 150 times the area of Central Park, or 8 times the area of Manhattan — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. San Francisco works out to about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park.
Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the eighth-largest in North America. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it now takes its name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked mountain around which the early settlement was built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal and a few, much smaller, peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard.
Known as "MTL", Montreal covers 498 km² with a population of 1.8 million. The city was established in 1642. Montreal is known for Mount Royal, Notre-Dame Basilica, Old Montreal, among other attractions.
Montreal was founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, meaning 'City of Mary', before adopting its current name from Mount Royal.
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. The city dates back to 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.
Montreal has a population density of 3,534 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 2.0 times more people per square kilometer.
Size Ratio
San Francisco fits inside Montreal ~4 times
Density Gap
San Francisco is 2.0x more densely populated
History
Montreal is ~134 years older
Montreal covers 498 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Prague (496 km²), Warsaw (517 km²), Budapest (525 km²), Oslo (454 km²), or Auckland (559 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 Montreal to San Francisco is 4,085 km (2,538 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~5h 18m.
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