Mexico vs USA Size: How Much Bigger Is the United States?

By Marko Visic · Updated Nov 11, 2026

The USA covers 3,796,742 sq mi and Mexico 758,449 sq mi, so by total area the USA is 5.01× Mexico, and five Mexicos fit with 4,495 sq mi to spare. The USA has 2.61× as many people, while Mexico is the more densely populated. About a quarter of today's USA, 948,800 sq mi, was once part of Mexico: Texas, the Mexican Cession of 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853.

The contiguous 48 states with 4 copies of Mexico and a dashed partial copy; each copy is scaled to the area ratio in the table. Alaska and Hawaii, 18% of US area, are not drawn; with them the USA is 5.01× Mexico.

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Mexico vs USA by the numbers

Metric	USA	Mexico	Ratio
Total area (sq mi)	3,796,742	758,449	USA 5.01×
Total area, contiguous US only (sq mi)	3,120,426	758,449	Contiguous US 4.11×
Land area (sq mi)	3,531,905	750,561	USA 4.71×
Population (USA July 1, 2025; Mexico 2024 est.)	341,784,857	130,739,927	USA 2.61×
People per sq mi of land	97	174	Mexico 1.80×
GDP, current US$ (2025)	$30.86T	$1.84T	USA 16.82×
GDP at PPP (2025)	$30.86T	$3.43T	USA 9.01×
GDP per person, current US$	$90,295	$14,036	USA 6.43×
Coastline (mi)	12,380	5,797	USA 2.14×
Highest point	Mount McKinley (Denali), 20,310 ft	Volcan Pico de Orizaba, 18,491 ft	USA 1.10×
Mean elevation (ft)	2,493	3,645	Mexico 1.46×
Standard time zones	6 (50 states)	4
First-level divisions	50 states + DC	32 states
Land borders	Canada, Mexico	Belize, Guatemala, USA

Ratios divide the larger figure by the smaller. The contiguous-US row is the area the drawings use.

How much bigger is the USA than Mexico?

By total area the USA is 5.01× Mexico: 3,796,742 sq mi against 758,449, a difference of 3,038,293 sq mi. On land alone the ratio is 4.71× (3,531,905 against 750,561 sq mi), because the US total also counts 264,837 sq mi of water (7.0% of its area), including Great Lakes, coastal and territorial water. Mexico's water comes to 7,888 sq mi, 1.0% of its Factbook total.

The map above shows the contiguous 48 states only, 3,120,426 sq mi, which hold 4.1 Mexicos. Alaska and Hawaii make up the other 18% of US area.

The CIA World Factbook describes Mexico as “slightly less than three times the size of Texas”: by land area it is 2.87× Texas (Mexico vs Texas). The four US states on the border, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, have 651,903 sq mi of land between them, 87% of Mexico's.

How much of the USA was once Mexican?

Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 and joined the United States in 1845. Texans claimed land beyond today's state, including parts of present-day New Mexico and Colorado, and a border on the Rio Grande, while Mexico put the border at the Nueces River. After skirmishes in the disputed land, the United States declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846 (Office of the Historian).

The war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848. Mexico ceded land that includes the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming; it gave up its claims to Texas and accepted the Rio Grande as the border. The United States paid $15 million (National Archives) and took on up to $3.25 million of debts Mexico owed to US citizens (Office of the Historian). In the Gadsden Purchase, finalized in 1854, the United States paid Mexico $10 million for land that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico and provided a route for a southern transcontinental railroad (Office of the Historian). The 1848 treaty and the Gadsden Purchase together set the southern border of today's United States (National Archives).

Acquisition	Year	Area (sq mi)
Texas annexation	1845	390,143
Mexican Cession	1848	529,017
Gadsden Purchase	1853	29,640
Total		948,800

On the Census Bureau's historical figures the three acquisitions come to 948,800 sq mi, about 25% of the USA's total area today and 1.25× the area of Mexico now. The Texas figure is the whole area annexed in 1845, more than today's state (268,596 sq mi): in 1850 Texas sold its land outside its present boundaries to the United States.

The US–Mexico border

The border runs 1,933 mi (3,111 km) across four US states, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, according to the Congressional Research Service, which cites US Geological Survey figures. Texas has the longest stretch. There the border follows the Rio Grande, which the 1848 treaty made the boundary.

Drawn to scale: the USA next to Mexico

Both countries at the same area per pixel, side by side. The US drawing is the contiguous 48 states.

Both drawn to scale in equal-area projections, the contiguous US in US Albers (parallels 29.5°N and 45.5°N) and Mexico in a conic equal-area projection (parallels 18°N and 30°N). Alaska and Hawaii are not drawn.

Mercator world maps widen the gap. Computed from our map data with a Mercator projection, Mexico is drawn at 1.21× its true area and the USA, with Alaska, at 2.29×, so on such a map the USA looks about 9.5 times the size of Mexico.

Population: 2.61× as many people in the USA

The USA had 341.8 million residents on July 1, 2025 (Census Bureau) and Mexico 130.7 million (CIA World Factbook, 2024 estimate, its latest for Mexico), 2.61× as many. Mexico has 174 people per square mile of land and the USA 97, so Mexico is 1.80× as densely populated.

The economy: the USA leads in dollars and at purchasing power parity

In the IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2026), US GDP in 2025 was $30.86 trillion and Mexico's $1.84 trillion at market exchange rates, so the US economy was 16.82× Mexico's. Measured at purchasing power parity, which values each country's output at the same set of prices, Mexico's GDP was $3.43 trillion and the US lead 9.01×. Divided by population, US GDP was about $90,295 per person and Mexico's about $14,036.

Methodology and sources

Area: USA and states: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates (2010) (land and total area; the US total includes inland, coastal, Great Lakes and territorial water). Mexico: CIA World Factbook, final edition: Mexico (total, land and water area). The contiguous US is the US total less Alaska and Hawaii.
Population: USA: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates (July 1, 2025). Mexico: CIA World Factbook, 2024 estimate, the latest it gives for Mexico.
GDP: IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), GDP in current US dollars (2025) and IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026), GDP at purchasing power parity (2025), both countries from the same release. GDP per person divides that GDP by the populations above.
Coastline, elevation, time zones, states, borders: CIA World Factbook, final edition: United States and CIA World Factbook, final edition: Mexico; US zones also in Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR Part 71, Standard Time Zone Boundaries. Miles and feet are converted from the Factbook's kilometers and meters.
US–Mexico border: Congressional Research Service report RS21729, U.S. International Borders: Brief Facts (US–Canada lengths from the International Boundary Commission, US–Mexico lengths from the US Geological Survey): the length (a US Geological Survey figure), the four border states and the length in each, which puts Texas first.
History: Areas and the 1850 Texas land sale: US Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Series J 1-2 (territorial expansion; areas determined in 1912 and adjusted to the 1960 remeasurements). Treaty terms, the ceded states and the border: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848), National Archives. Texas, the war and the debts: The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845–1848; the purchase price and railroad route: Gadsden Purchase, 1853–1854; both Office of the Historian, US Department of State (retrieved November 11, 2026).
Mercator factors: Computed from our map data with a Mercator projection: the projected area of each country's shape divided by its true area.
Drawings: Shapes from us-atlas (US Census Bureau cartographic boundaries) and world-atlas (Natural Earth 1:50m) for the drawings. The US is drawn as the contiguous 48 states and scaled with their area (3,120,426 sq mi, Census 2010 total less Alaska and Hawaii); each copy of Mexico in the tiled map is scaled to the area ratio in the table.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. By total area the USA is 5.01× Mexico: 3,796,742 sq mi (9,833,517 km²) against 758,449 sq mi (1,964,375 km²). By land area alone the ratio is 4.71×, 3,531,905 against 750,561 sq mi.

Five on total area, with 4,495 sq mi to spare. The contiguous 48 states alone, the shape drawn on this page, hold 4.1 Mexicos.

On the Census Bureau's historical figures, 948,800 sq mi: Texas, annexed in 1845 (390,143 sq mi), the Mexican Cession of 1848 (529,017 sq mi) and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 (29,640 sq mi). That is about 25% of the USA's total area today and 1.25× the area of Mexico now.

The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded land that includes the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming (National Archives). Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 and joined the United States in 1845, and the Gadsden Purchase added land that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico (Office of the Historian).

$15 million under the 1848 treaty, and the US government took on up to $3.25 million of debts that Mexico owed to US citizens. The Gadsden Purchase cost another $10 million (National Archives; Office of the Historian). These are the sums of the time, not adjusted for inflation.

1,933 mi (3,111 km), across four US states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Texas has the longest stretch, along the Rio Grande (Congressional Research Service, from US Geological Survey figures).

Mexico had 130.7 million people (CIA World Factbook, 2024 estimate) and the USA 341.8 million on July 1, 2025 (US Census Bureau), so the USA has 2.61× as many. Mexico has 174 people per square mile of land and the USA 97, which makes Mexico 1.80× as densely populated.

In current US dollars Mexico's GDP was $1.84 trillion in 2025 and the USA's $30.86 trillion, 16.82× as large in the IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2026). At purchasing power parity the gap narrows to 9.01×: $3.43 trillion against $30.86 trillion.

Yes. The CIA World Factbook describes Mexico as "slightly less than three times the size of Texas". By land area Mexico is 2.87× Texas, 750,561 against 261,232 sq mi.

The USA: 12,380 mi (19,924 km) against Mexico's 5,797 mi (9,330 km) on the CIA World Factbook's figures, 2.14× as long.

Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, 20,310 ft (6,190 m), is the highest point in the USA and in North America; Mexico's is Volcan Pico de Orizaba, 18,491 ft (5,636 m). On average Mexico sits higher: its mean elevation is 3,645 ft (1,111 m) against 2,493 ft (760 m) for the USA (CIA World Factbook).

Mexico has four time zones and 32 states, and it dropped daylight saving time permanently in October 2022; Mexico City is one hour behind Washington, DC, in standard time (CIA World Factbook). The USA has 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the 50 states span six standard time zones under federal law.

Related size comparisons

Open Mexico and the USA in the interactive tool
Mexico vs Texas: Mexico is 2.87× Texas (land area).
Texas vs California: Texas is 1.68× California (land area).
Alaska vs California: Alaska is 3.66× California (land area).
USA vs Canada: Canada is 1.02× the USA (total area).
Brazil vs USA: The USA is 1.15× Brazil (total area).
Alaska vs Lower 48: The lower 48 is 5.18× Alaska (land area).
Saudi Arabia vs Texas: Saudi Arabia is 3.18× Texas (land area).
Texas vs France: Texas is 1.23× France (land area).
Russia vs Canada: Russia is 1.71× Canada (total area).
All size comparisons

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). Mexico vs USA Size: How Much Bigger Is the United States? Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/mexico-vs-usa. CC-BY 4.0.