San Francisco
121 km²
Seattle
369 km²
USA
United States
Area Comparison
San Francisco is 3.0x smaller than Seattle
Population Comparison
San Francisco has 1.2x more people than Seattle
Seattle is significantly larger, covering 3.0 times the area of San Francisco. Seattle spans 369 km² (142 mi²) while San Francisco covers 121 km² (47 mi²) — a difference of 248 km². You could fit San Francisco inside Seattle approximately 3 times.
To put San Francisco's size in perspective, its area of 121 km² is about 1.2x the size of Paris (city proper). Meanwhile, Seattle at 369 km² is about 1.6x smaller than Seoul.
San Francisco's footprint is roughly about 17,000 American football fields, 60 times the area of Monaco, or 35 times the area of Central Park — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Seattle, by comparison, equals about 52,000 American football fields, 180 times the area of Monaco, or 110 times the area of Central Park.
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.
Known as "The City by the Bay", San Francisco covers 121 km² with a population of 0.9 million. The city was established in 1776. San Francisco is known for Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Cable cars, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the BART & Muni.
San Francisco ranks first by per capita income among all US cities with 300,000+ residents as of 2023.
Seattle is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is the 18th-most populous city in the United States with a population of 780,995 in 2024, while the Seattle metropolitan area at over 4.15 million residents is the 15th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation. The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington.
Also known as "The Emerald City", Seattle has an area of 369 km² and is home to 0.7 million people. The city dates back to 1851. Visitors come for Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Starbucks headquarters, and much more.
Seattle is Washington's most populous city with 780,995 residents in 2024, anchoring the Pacific Northwest.
San Francisco has a population density of 7,190 people per km² — a densely populated city. Seattle, with 2,005 people per km², is a moderately dense city. San Francisco is dramatically more crowded, with 3.6x the population density.
Size Ratio
San Francisco fits inside Seattle ~3 times
Density Gap
San Francisco is 3.6x more densely populated
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).
Seattle covers 369 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Philadelphia (370 km²), Dhaka (368 km²), Portland (376 km²), Atlanta (348 km²), or Denver (401 km²).
The straight-line distance from San Francisco to Seattle is 1,093 km (679 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~1h 47m.
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