The map above shows California and Delaware side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
California vs Delaware Geography
Land area
- California has a land area of 155,859 square miles (403,673 km²), while Delaware has 1,949 square miles (5,047 km²).
- California's land area is 80.0 times larger than Delaware's.
Total area
- California: 163,694 square miles (423,965 km²) vs Delaware: 2,489 square miles (6,446 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- California's total area is 65.8 times larger than Delaware's.
Length
- California is 761 miles (1,224 km) long from north to south; Delaware is 98 miles (158 km).
- California's north-south length is 7.8 times (677%) longer than Delaware's.
Width
- California spans 706 miles (1,137 km) east to west; Delaware spans 96 miles (155 km).
- California's east-west width is 7.4 times (635%) wider than Delaware's.
Highest point
- California's highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,484 feet (4,415 m); Delaware's is Ebright Azimuth at 450 feet (137 m).
- Mount Whitney is 14,034 feet higher than Ebright Azimuth.
Lowest point
- California's lowest point is Death Valley at -279 feet; Delaware's is Atlantic Ocean at 0 feet.
- California's lowest point is 279 feet lower.
California vs Delaware Population and History
Population
- California has a population of 39,431,263 (2024), while Delaware has 1,051,917 (2024).
- California's population is 37.5 times larger than Delaware's.
Population density
- California: 253.0 people per square mile vs Delaware: 539.9.
- Delaware's population density is 2.1 times (113%) higher than California's.
Biggest city
- California's biggest city is Los Angeles with 3,878,704 people; Delaware's is Wilmington with 73,176.
- Los Angeles' population is 53.0 times larger than Wilmington's.
Largest metro area
- California's largest metropolitan area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (12,927,614 people) vs Delaware's Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (6,330,422).
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area's population is 2.0 times (104%) larger than Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area's.
History
- California: Admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state.
- Delaware: Admitted to the Union on December 7, 1787, as the 1st state.
- In its current form, Delaware is the older of the two by 63 years.
California vs Delaware Economy
GDP
- California's GDP is $4,048.1 billion (2024) vs Delaware's $111.0 billion.
- California's economic output is 36.5 times larger than Delaware's.
GDP per capita
- California: $102,662 per person vs Delaware: $105,495.
- California and Delaware have about the same GDP per capita.
Average income
- California: $86,232 vs Delaware: $68,061 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- California's average income is 1.3 times (27%) higher than Delaware's.
California vs Delaware Counties
Number of counties
- California has 58 counties, while Delaware has 3.
- California's county count is 19.3 times higher than Delaware's.
Biggest county by area
- California's largest county is San Bernardino County at 20,068 square miles; Delaware's is Sussex County at 936 square miles.
- San Bernardino County's land area is 21.4 times larger than Sussex County's.
Smallest county by area
- California: San Francisco County (47 sq mi) vs Delaware: New Castle County (426 sq mi).
- New Castle County's land area is 9.1 times (813%) larger than San Francisco County's.
Most populous county
- California: Los Angeles County (9,757,179 people) vs Delaware: New Castle County (588,093 people).
- Los Angeles County's population is 16.6 times larger than New Castle County's.
Least populous county
- California: Alpine County (1,099 people) vs Delaware: Kent County (192,690 people).
- Kent County's population is 175.3 times larger than Alpine County's.
Richest county
- California: Marin County ($190,891 per capita income) vs Delaware: Sussex County ($73,647).
- Marin County's income is 2.6 times (159%) richer than Sussex County's.
Poorest county
- California: Trinity County ($42,191 per capita income) vs Delaware: Kent County ($55,474).
- Kent County's income is 1.3 times (31%) richer than Trinity County's.
California vs Delaware Taxes
State income tax
- California has a top income tax rate of 13.3%, while Delaware has a top income tax rate of 6.6%.
- California's top rate is 6.7 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- California: 0.71% effective rate vs Delaware: 0.47% of home value per year.
- California's rate is 0.24 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- California: 9.03% combined state and average local rate vs Delaware: 0%.
- California's combined rate is 9.03 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
California official website · Delaware official website
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More Size Comparisons
All California size comparisons · All Delaware size comparisons
Area, elevation and boundary figures come from official national statistics and US Census Bureau and Natural Earth boundary data; US state population, economic, county and tax figures come from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Tax Foundation. Figures are rounded and for general reference.