San Francisco vs Paris — true size compared
San Francisco is about 1.15× the area of Paris — a difference of roughly 16 km² (6 sq mi). You could fit Paris inside San Francisco about 1 time.
The City of San Francisco is just 121.4 km² (46.9 sq mi) on the tip of a hilly peninsula.
The City of Paris is just 105.4 km² (40.7 sq mi) — one of the most compact major capitals in Europe.
Overlay San Francisco and Paris on the map →
Why maps make San Francisco and Paris look wrong
Almost every web map — Google Maps, Apple Maps, OpenStreetMap — uses the Mercator projection. Mercator preserves shape locally, but it stretches land the further you get from the equator. Greenland ends up looking bigger than Africa. Alaska rivals the contiguous US. That's why San Francisco and Paris can look similar on a world map even when one is many times larger. The only fair way to compare is to lift one outline off the map and drop it on top of the other at true scale.
Quick facts
- San Francisco: 121.4 km² · 47 sq mi
- Paris: 105.4 km² · 41 sq mi
- Ratio: San Francisco is 1.15× Paris
- Absolute difference: 16 km² (6 sq mi)
- Paris fits inside San Francisco ~1 time
Frequently asked
Is San Francisco bigger than Paris?
San Francisco is the bigger of the two, at 121.4 km² compared to 105.4 km² for Paris.
How many times does Paris fit inside San Francisco?
About 1 time — the exact ratio is 1.15×.
Why does the map exaggerate one of them?
Mercator projection. Places far from the equator get visually stretched. Overlay the two at true scale to see the honest comparison.