State of the United States

California

California is a state of the United States. It covers about 410,000 km² (158,000 mi²), the 3rd largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Paraguay. About 39.5 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).

In area1.02×the size ofParaguay400,000 km² In people0.98×as many people asSudan40.5 million

200 km

California
Paraguay

Facts

Area, measured	410,000 km²158,000 mi²
Official area	424,000 km²Wikidata · 3.4% above our measure
Share of the United States	4.3%of the area of the 51 states and districts
Rank by area	3rd of 51states and districts of the United States
Population	39.5 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit
Density	96 people per km²
Capital	Sacramento
Latitude range	33°N to 42°N
Type	StateUS-CA

What the numbers say about California

California covers 4.3% of the area of the United States and ranks 1st of 51 by population, against 3rd by area.
It would take 23.1 states and districts the size of California to cover the United States.
California holds 12% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 8.
The largest, Alaska, is 3.67× the size of California; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is less than 0.1% of it.
Closest in size within the United States: Montana (379,000 km², 1.08×) and New Mexico (315,000 km², 1.30×).
Counted as a country, California would be larger than 180 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 60th by area, between Iraq (437,000 km²) and Paraguay (400,000 km²).
With 39.5 million people it would rank 37th of 238 by population.
California has 96 people per km², about the density of Cambodia, which has 96 per km².
That makes California the 12th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 2.76× the average for the United States (35 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 37°N is drawn about 1.6× too large in area, so California looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, California stretches about 1,060 km north to south and 909 km east to west.
Our measured 410,000 km² is 3.4% below Wikidata's official figure of 424,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.

About the same size as

About as many people as

Beside the regions of other countries

The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.

ChinaAreaGansu1.01× · 406,000 km² PeopleShaanxi1.00× · 39.5 million (2020)
IndiaAreaRajasthan1.19× · 343,000 km² PeopleOdisha0.94× · 42.0 million (2011)
BrazilAreaMato Grosso do Sul1.15× · 356,000 km² PeopleSão Paulo89% · 44.4 million (2022)
CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador1.02× · 403,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
AustraliaAreaVictoria1.80× · 228,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
MexicoAreaChihuahua1.65× · 248,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×

Where California ranks

California is the 3rd largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.

Ranked within the United States

All 51 states and districts of the United States, matched to countries

Compare California

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
Official figures: Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
Population: Wikidata, 2020. United States’s units share the 2020 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
Matching: Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
Data built: 2026-11-12

Full method