Texas vs Alaska Size: How Much Bigger Is Alaska?

Texas is the largest state in the lower 48 — but it's not the largest US state. Alaska is 2.18× larger than Texasby land area. Two Texases fit inside Alaska's outline with about 48,177 square miles to spare — an area roughly the size of New York State. Despite the bumper-sticker tradition, "everything is bigger in Texas" stops being true at the Alaska border.

At a glance: Texas vs Alaska by the numbers

How much bigger is Alaska than Texas?

Alaska is 2.18 times larger than Texas by land area — 570,641 square miles versus 261,232 square miles. Alaska has 309,409 more square miles of land than Texas — a difference equal to the combined area of Germany and the United Kingdom, or roughly the entire state of Texas you started with plus another New York State.

Two complete Texases will fit inside Alaska's outline, with about 48,177 square miles of Alaska land left over— almost exactly the size of New York State, the 27th-largest US state. The visual at the top of this page shows that 2.18 ratio as 2 full Texases plus a smaller 0.18 partial Texas, all packed inside Alaska's mainland silhouette.

For 114 years — from Texas's annexation in 1845 to Alaska's admission in 1959 — Texas was indeed the largest US state. The "biggest state" claim entered Texas culture deeply, and the bumper stickers, license plates, and tourist merchandising kept it alive even after Alaska became a state. As of January 3, 1959, Texas has been the second-largest US state. It remains the largest state in the contiguous lower 48, and the second-largest overall.

The Mercator paradox: both states get distorted, but Alaska gets the bigger lie

Most world maps use the Mercator projection, which inflates area at high latitudes. Texas sits between 26°N and 36°N, where Mercator stretches visual area by roughly 1.2× to 1.6×. Alaska sits between 51°N and 71°N, where Mercator inflates by 2.5× to over 9×. So on a standard world map:

• Texas appears about 1.4× its true visual size on average
• Alaska appears about 4× to 6× its true visual size
• The visible ratio on a Mercator map: Alaska looks 7–10× Texas, when the true ratio is 2.18×

US-only maps usually correct for this by showing Alaska as an inset — a small box, often dropped beneath the Gulf of Mexico or beside Hawaii in the lower-left. The inset trick fixes Mercator's polar inflation but tends to overcorrect: Alaska in these insets is typically drawn at roughly one-third its true relative scale, making Alaska look comparable in size to Texas. So most Americans simultaneously hold two contradictory beliefs about Alaska — that it's enormous (from world maps) and that it's about Texas-sized (from US insets). The honest answer is between: Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas.

Drawn to scale: Alaska next to Texas

The tiled visual at the top of the page is a packing visualisation — both states rendered at the same area-per-pixel scale, with Texas slightly shrunk so two Texases fit cleanly inside Alaska's outline. Below is the same fact in a different frame: each state at its true shape, projected at the same scale, drawn side by side.

Population and density: Texas has 40 people for every 1 Alaskan

The land-area ratio is reversed in population. Texas had 29,145,505 residents in the 2020 Census; Alaska had 736,081. Texas has approximately 39.6 times more people than Alaska. The city of Houston alone (population 2.3 million) has roughly three times Alaska's total population.

Density compounds the contrast. Texas's 111.6people per square mile is 17th-highest in the nation. Alaska's 1.29 per square mile is by far the lowest — Texas is approximately 87 times more densely populated than Alaska.

Put differently: Texas covers 39.6% of Alaska's land but holds 3,961% of Alaska's people. Per resident, Alaska has roughly 775 square miles of land per thousand residents, the highest figure in the nation. Texas has about 9 square miles per thousand.

Coastline: Alaska has 18× more — and more than the rest of the US combined

Texas has 367 miles of general coastline along the Gulf of Mexico — the longest Gulf Coast of any US state. Alaska's general coastline is 6,640 miles, or 18.1 times Texas's. Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined.

Using NOAA's tidal-shoreline metric (which traces every bay, inlet, fjord, and island), Alaska's coastline jumps to 33,904 miles— over 90 times Texas's tidal shoreline. Three geographic facts drive this: the Aleutian Island chain (1,200 miles of mostly uninhabited islands), the Alexander Archipelago in the panhandle (1,100+ islands), and the deeply indented mainland coast where glacial fjords carve in for tens of miles.

Highest, biggest, oldest: extremes

• Highest point in North America: Denali, Alaska, at 20,310 ft. Texas's tallest point — Guadalupe Peak at 8,749 ft — is roughly 42% of Denali's height.
• Most peaks above 14,000 ft: Alaska has 30+ peaks above 14,000 ft. Texas has zero peaks above 9,000 ft.
• Most counties: Texas, with 254 — the most of any US state. Alaska has 30 county-equivalents (19 boroughs + 11 census areas).
• Most National Parks: Alaska with 8. Texas with 2 (Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains).
• Biggest single National Park: Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska at 13.2 million acres — larger than 9 entire US states and roughly the size of Switzerland.
• Oldest as a state: Texas (1845, 28th). Alaska joined 114 years later (1959, 49th).

What else is the size of Alaska? Country-equivalents

If Alaska were an independent country, it would rank approximately 19th-largest in the world by area — between Mongolia (605,000 sq mi) and Peru (496,000 sq mi). Useful comparisons:

• Alaska is larger than France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined (478,000 sq mi).
• Alaska is roughly 90% the size of Iran (636,000 sq mi).
• Alaska is about 75% of Mexico (758,000 sq mi).
• Alaska is about 2.18 Texases, or 3.66 Californias, or 6.1 Greeces.

What else is the size of Texas? Country-equivalents

Texas's 261,232 square miles puts it in the same size class as several mid-sized countries. If Texas were an independent country, it would rank approximately 40th-largest in the world by area.

• Texas is essentially the same size as France (246,000 sq mi) plus the United Kingdom (94,000 sq mi) combined.
• Texas is roughly the size of Afghanistan (252,000 sq mi) — within 4%.
• Texas is larger than Spain (195,000 sq mi) by 33%.
• Texas is 1.68× the size of California — its closest US comparison.

Why are they so different? A brief history

Texas (1845, the 28th state)

Texas was Spanish, then Mexican territory until the Texas Revolution of 1836, when American settlers and Tejanos declared independence and defeated the Mexican army at San Jacinto. The Republic of Texasexisted as an independent country from 1836 to 1845, with its own constitution, currency, military, and diplomatic recognition from the United States, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. Texas joined the US on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state. The original Republic of Texas was even larger than the current state — it claimed land that became portions of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma; those claims were ceded in the Compromise of 1850 in exchange for federal payment of Texas's Republic-era debts.

Alaska (1959, the 49th state)

Alaska was a Russian colony from 1733 until 1867, when US Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated its purchase for $7.2 million — about $0.02 per acre, roughly $140 million in 2026 dollars. Newspapers of the era mocked the deal as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox." The 1896 Klondike Gold Rush, the Pacific theater of World War II, and the 1957 discovery of oil on the Kenai Peninsula gradually shifted public opinion. Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959, displacing Texas as the largest US state.

10 surprising facts about Texas vs Alaska

1. Alaska is bigger than Texas + California combined. Texas 261,232 + California 155,779 = 417,011 sq mi. Alaska is 570,641 sq mi — 153,000 sq mi bigger.
2. Alaska has more coastline than Texas has total area along the Gulf.6,640 mi vs Texas's 367 mi of Gulf Coast.
3. Texas had to be its own country first. Republic of Texas, 1836–1845. The only US state recognised as a sovereign nation in its own right (Hawaii was a kingdom, treated separately).
4. Alaska's Aleutian Islands cross the antimeridian.The westernmost point of the US is Semisopochnoi Island at 179°46'E — meaning Alaska is technically the easternmost AND westernmost US state.
5. Texas has more counties than Alaska has people per square mile × 200. 254 counties vs density 1.29. Texas has more local governments than Alaska has years of statehood × 4.
6. One Texas county is bigger than Rhode Island.Brewster County, TX (6,193 sq mi) is bigger than RI (1,034 sq mi land). Alaska's Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area (147,808 sq mi) is bigger than 28 US states.
7. The Houston metro area has more people than Alaska + Wyoming + Vermont combined. Houston metro ~7.3M vs AK 736K + WY 577K + VT 643K = 1.96M.
8. Alaska's Wrangell–St. Elias National Park alone is bigger than 9 US states.13.2 million acres = 20,625 sq mi. Larger than RI, DE, CT, HI, NJ, NH, VT, MA, and MD combined's individual size.
9. Texas was the only US state with its own foreign policy. The Republic of Texas had embassies in Washington, London, and Paris.
10. Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the US. Texas does not have a peak in the national top 50.

Frequently asked questions

Related size comparisons

• Open Texas + Alaska in the interactive Country Size Comparison tool — drag either state across the world map at true area scale.
• Alaska vs California size comparison — Alaska is 3.66× larger than California; almost four Californias fit inside Alaska.
• Alaska vs Lower 48 size comparison — Alaska is huge — but the contiguous US is 5.18× bigger still; five Alaskas fit inside the lower 48.
• Texas vs California size comparison — Texas is 1.68× California by land, but California has 1.36× the people and a $1.2T-larger economy.
• California vs Florida size comparison — California is 2.91× Florida; almost three Floridas fit inside California.
• Delaware vs Rhode Island size comparison — America's two smallest states: Delaware is 1.88× larger, Rhode Island has more people.
• All 254 Texas counties and all 30 Alaska boroughs and census areas — full lists with population, area, and seats.
• 100-mile radius around Austin and around Juneau — how much of each state lives within day-trip distance of its capital.
• The loneliest town in Texas and in Alaska — Alaska is home to the most isolated inhabited places in the United States.
• Mexico vs Texas size comparison — Mexico is 2.82× Texas; Texas was Mexican until 1836.
• Saudi Arabia vs Texas size comparison — Saudi is 3.09× Texas; the two top oil-producing regions compared.
• Texas vs France size comparison — Texas is 1.08× France; France was first to recognize the Republic of Texas (1839).
• All size comparisons — the full library of US-state and world-country size comparisons.

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). Texas vs Alaska Size: How Much Bigger Is Alaska? Part of the SimpleMapLab Size Comparisons series. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/texas-vs-alaska. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.