San Diego
964 km²
Shenzhen
1,997 km²
United States
China
Area Comparison
San Diego is 2.1x smaller than Shenzhen
Population Comparison
San Diego has 12.6x fewer people than Shenzhen
Shenzhen is significantly larger, covering 2.1 times the area of San Diego. Shenzhen spans 1,997 km² (771 mi²) while San Diego covers 964 km² (372 mi²) — a difference of 1,033 km². You could fit San Diego inside Shenzhen approximately 2 times.
To put San Diego's size in perspective, its area of 964 km² is roughly the same size as Berlin. Meanwhile, Shenzhen at 1,997 km² is roughly the same size as Tokyo (city proper).
Picture San Diego another way: its area is large enough to fit about 135,000 American football fields, 16 times the area of Manhattan, or 9 times the area of Paris. For Shenzhen, that's about 280,000 American football fields, 34 times the area of Manhattan, or 19 times the area of Paris.
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. It is the eighth-most populous city in the U.S. and second-most populous city in California with a population of over 1.4 million, while the San Diego metropolitan area with over 3.3 million residents is the 18th-largest metropolitan area in the country. San Diego is the county seat of San Diego County.
Known as "America's Finest City", San Diego covers 964 km² with a population of 1.4 million. The city was established in 1769. San Diego is known for San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Coronado Beach, among other attractions.
San Diego sits directly on the Mexico-United States border, making it California's southwesternmost major city.
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 17.5 million in 2020, Shenzhen is the third-most-populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing.
Often called "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen has an area of 1,997 km² and is home to 17.6 million people. It was established in 1979. Visitors come for Ping An Finance Centre, Window of the World, OCT Loft, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shenzhen Metro.
Shenzhen grew from a small town into China's third-most-populous urban city, hitting 17.5 million residents by 2020
San Diego has a population density of 1,442 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Shenzhen, with 8,793 people per km², is a densely populated city. Shenzhen is dramatically more crowded, with 6.1x the population density.
Size Ratio
San Diego fits inside Shenzhen ~2 times
Density Gap
Shenzhen is 6.1x more densely populated
History
San Diego is ~210 years older
San Diego covers 964 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Abu Dhabi (972 km²), Dallas (997 km²), Berlin (892 km²), Santiago (838 km²), or Hong Kong (1,114 km²).
Shenzhen covers 1,997 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Riyadh (1,798 km²), Houston (1,725 km²), or Johannesburg (1,644 km²).
The straight-line distance from San Diego to Shenzhen is 11,812 km (7,340 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~14h 24m.
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