simplemaplab

California vs UK Size: How Much Bigger Is California?

By Marko Visic · Updated Nov 11, 2026

California has 155,779 sq mi of land and the UK 93,410 sq mi, so by land area California is 1.67× the UK. The UK has 1.75× as many people (68.8 million against 39.4 million) and is 2.91× as densely populated. In 2025 California's GDP was 1.07× the UK's.

The United Kingdom drawn over California at the same scale. California has 1.67 times the UK's land area; the UK's land is 60% of California's.California is 1.67× the size of the UK by land areaCalifornia 155,779 sq mi · UK 93,410 sq mi · land areaCaliforniaUKsimplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/california-vs-uk · CC-BY 4.0
The UK (amber), with Northern Ireland, drawn over California (outlined), both to scale in equal-area projections. The UK's land area is 60% of California's.
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California vs UK by the numbers

MetricCaliforniaUKRatio
Land area (sq mi)155,77993,410California 1.67×
Total area (sq mi)*163,69594,058California 1.74×
Population (California July 1, 2025; UK 2025 est.)39,355,30968,751,311UK 1.75×
People per sq mi of land253736UK 2.91×
GDP, current US$ (2025)$4.30T$4.01TCalifornia 1.07×
GDP per person, current US$$109,196$58,359California 1.87×
Coastline (mi)**840 (NOAA general coastline)7,723 (Factbook)
Highest pointMount Whitney, 14,505 ftBen Nevis, 4,413 ftCalifornia 3.29×
Standard timeUTC-8 (Pacific)UTC 0UK 8 hours ahead

* California's Census total includes coastal and territorial water; the UK's Factbook total adds only inland water to its land, so the pair is compared on land area. ** From different sources, so no ratio is given. Ratios divide the larger figure by the smaller.

How much bigger is California than the UK?

By land area California is 1.67× the UK: 155,779 sq mi (US Census Bureau, 2010) against 93,410 sq mi (CIA World Factbook). The difference, 62,369 sq mi, is a little less than the land area of Washington (66,456 sq mi), and the UK's land is 60% of California's.

Total areas give a larger ratio, 1.74× (163,695 against 94,058 sq mi), because the two totals count different water. California's Census total includes 5,082 sq mi of coastal and territorial water; the UK's Factbook total adds only 649 sq mi of inland water to its land. This page therefore compares land with land.

Ten states have more land than the UK: Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Oregon. On total area the count is eleven, because Michigan's total includes 38,174 sq mi of Great Lakes water. The Factbook describes the UK as “twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon”: its land area is 97% of Oregon's and 2.09× Pennsylvania's.

Population: the UK has 1.75× as many people

The CIA World Factbook estimates the UK's population at 68,751,311 for 2025; the Census Bureau puts California's at 39,355,309 on July 1, 2025, the most of any state. The UK has 1.75× as many people on 60% of the land, so it is 2.91× as dense: 736 people per square mile of land against California's 253.

Economy: California's GDP is 1.07× the UK's

In current US dollars for 2025, California's GDP was $4.30 trillion (Bureau of Economic Analysis), and the UK's was $4.01 trillion in the IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2026), so California's economy was 1.07× the UK's. Divided by the populations above, that is about $109,196 per person in California and $58,359 in the UK.

Set against the IMF's figures for countries, only the USA as a whole, China, Germany and Japan had larger economies than California in 2025.

Drawn to scale: California next to the UK

Both at the same area per pixel.

California and the United Kingdom side by side at the same equal-area scale.California has 1.67× the UK's land areaCalifornia155,779 sq miUnited Kingdom93,410 sq mi
California in the US Albers equal-area projection (standard parallels 29.5°N and 45.5°N) and the UK in a conic equal-area projection (standard parallels 50°N and 58°N), drawn to scale.

On a Mercator web map the UK looks the larger of the two. Mercator maps enlarge areas more the farther they are from the equator. Computed from our map data with a Mercator projection, the UK is drawn at 2.93× its true area and California at 1.58×, so the UK appears about 1.1× California's size although California has 1.67× its land.

California and the UK among European countries

Our Europe total counts 45 countries: all of Europe except Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Caucasus states, with France counted without its overseas regions. On Factbook land areas, only Ukraine, France, Spain and Sweden have more land than California; Sweden, the closest, has 158,431 sq mi, 2% more. The UK ranks 10th of the 45, after Ukraine, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Finland and Italy.

Coastline and highest points

The Factbook gives the UK 7,723 mi (12,429 km) of coastline and notes that, because the coast is heavily indented, no place in the UK is more than 78 mi (125 km) from tidal waters. NOAA's general coastline for California, published in 1975 and taken from large-scale nautical charts, is 840 mi, and its tidal shoreline, which also follows bays and rivers to the head of tidewater, is 3,427 mi. Because the figures come from different sources, the table gives no ratio for them.

California's highest point, Mount Whitney, is 14,505 ft (4,421 m), the highest in the lower 48 states (National Park Service). The UK's, Ben Nevis, is 4,413 ft (1,345 m) in the Factbook, so Whitney is 3.29× as high.

Methodology and sources

Area
California: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates (2010). UK: CIA World Factbook, final edition: United Kingdom (land, water and total area). Land area is compared because the Census total includes coastal and territorial water. State counts and ranks use the Census land and total areas.
Population
California: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates (July 1, 2025). UK: CIA World Factbook, 2025 estimate. Density divides each population by its land area.
GDP
California: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP by state (2025, current dollars). UK and the other countries: IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), GDP in current US dollars (2025). Both are 2025 figures in current US dollars; GDP per person divides them by the populations above.
Coastline
UK: CIA World Factbook (coastline and geography note). California: NOAA, The Coastline of the United States (1975): general coastline by state, as reprinted in Congressional Research Service report RS21729; NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Shoreline Mileage of the United States (tidal shoreline). Miles are converted from the Factbook's kilometers.
Highest points
National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks: Mt. Whitney, retrieved November 11, 2026; Ben Nevis from the CIA World Factbook, feet converted from meters.
Time zones
Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR Part 71, Standard Time Zone Boundaries; the Factbook's UK time difference (UTC 0).
European countries
CIA World Factbook, final edition, land areas of the 45 countries, France without its overseas regions. Named here: Ukraine, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Finland and Italy.
Drawings and Mercator factors
Shapes from us-atlas (US Census Bureau cartographic boundaries) and world-atlas (Natural Earth 1:50m) for the drawings; the UK is drawn with Northern Ireland. The Mercator factors are computed from the same map data with a Mercator projection.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. California has 155,779 sq mi of land (US Census Bureau, 2010) and the UK 93,410 sq mi (CIA World Factbook), so California is 1.67× the UK by land area. California's total area, 163,695 sq mi, also counts coastal and territorial water that the UK's total of 94,058 sq mi leaves out, so the page compares land with land.
By 62,369 sq mi of land, a little less than the land area of Washington (66,456 sq mi). The UK's land area is 60% of California's.
The UK: 68,751,311 people (CIA World Factbook, 2025 estimate) against California's 39,355,309 (Census Bureau, July 1, 2025), 1.75× as many.
The UK, with 736 people per square mile of land against California's 253, 2.91× as dense.
California. In current US dollars its 2025 GDP was $4.30 trillion (Bureau of Economic Analysis), and the UK's was $4.01 trillion in the IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2026), so California's was 1.07× the UK's. Per person that is about $109,196 in California and $58,359 in the UK.
Ten states have more land than the UK: Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Oregon. Comparing total areas adds Michigan, whose total includes 38,174 sq mi of Great Lakes water.
Oregon. The UK's land area is 97% of Oregon's (95,988 sq mi), and the CIA World Factbook describes the UK as "twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon".
California's is Mount Whitney, 14,505 ft (4,421 m), the highest in the lower 48 (National Park Service). The UK's is Ben Nevis, 4,413 ft (1,345 m), in the CIA World Factbook. Whitney is 3.29× as high.
Mercator maps enlarge areas more the farther they are from the equator. Computed from our map data with a Mercator projection, the UK is drawn at 2.93× its true area and California at 1.58×, so the UK appears about 1.1× California's size although California has 1.67× its land.
Eight hours in standard time. California keeps Pacific Standard Time, UTC-8 (49 CFR Part 71), and the UK keeps UTC 0 (CIA World Factbook).
Of the 45 countries in our Europe total (Europe without Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Caucasus states), only Ukraine, France, Spain and Sweden have more land than California, on CIA World Factbook land areas. The UK ranks 10th of the 45.

Related size comparisons

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). California vs UK Size. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/california-vs-uk. CC-BY 4.0.