The map above shows California and New Jersey side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
California vs New Jersey Geography
Land area
- California has a land area of 155,859 square miles (403,673 km²), while New Jersey has 7,355 square miles (19,049 km²).
- California's land area is 21.2 times larger than New Jersey's.
Total area
- California: 163,694 square miles (423,965 km²) vs New Jersey: 8,719 square miles (22,583 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- California's total area is 18.8 times larger than New Jersey's.
Length
- California is 761 miles (1,224 km) long from north to south; New Jersey is 169 miles (271 km).
- California's north-south length is 4.5 times (350%) longer than New Jersey's.
Width
- California spans 706 miles (1,137 km) east to west; New Jersey spans 129 miles (207 km).
- California's east-west width is 5.5 times (447%) wider than New Jersey's.
Highest point
- California's highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,484 feet (4,415 m); New Jersey's is High Point at 1,798 feet (548 m).
- Mount Whitney is 12,686 feet higher than High Point.
Lowest point
- California's lowest point is Death Valley at -279 feet; New Jersey's is Atlantic Ocean at 0 feet.
- California's lowest point is 279 feet lower.
California vs New Jersey Population and History
Population
- California has a population of 39,431,263 (2024), while New Jersey has 9,500,851 (2024).
- California's population is 4.2 times (315%) larger than New Jersey's.
Population density
- California: 253.0 people per square mile vs New Jersey: 1,291.8.
- New Jersey's population density is 5.1 times (411%) higher than California's.
Biggest city
- California's biggest city is Los Angeles with 3,878,704 people; New Jersey's is Newark with 317,303.
- Los Angeles' population is 12.2 times larger than Newark's.
Largest metro area
- California's largest metropolitan area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (12,927,614 people) vs New Jersey's New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (19,940,274).
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area's population is 1.5 times (54%) larger than Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area's.
History
- California: Admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state.
- New Jersey: Admitted to the Union on December 18, 1787, as the 3rd state.
- In its current form, New Jersey is the older of the two by 63 years.
California vs New Jersey Economy
GDP
- California's GDP is $4,048.1 billion (2024) vs New Jersey's $846.0 billion.
- California's economic output is 4.8 times (378%) larger than New Jersey's.
GDP per capita
- California: $102,662 per person vs New Jersey: $89,045.
- California's GDP per capita is 1.2 times (15%) higher than New Jersey's.
Average income
- California: $86,232 vs New Jersey: $84,893 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- California and New Jersey have about the same average income.
California vs New Jersey Counties
Number of counties
- California has 58 counties, while New Jersey has 21.
- California's county count is 2.8 times (176%) higher than New Jersey's.
Biggest county by area
- California's largest county is San Bernardino County at 20,068 square miles; New Jersey's is Burlington County at 799 square miles.
- San Bernardino County's land area is 25.1 times larger than Burlington County's.
Smallest county by area
- California: San Francisco County (47 sq mi) vs New Jersey: Hudson County (46 sq mi).
- San Francisco County and Hudson County have about the same land area.
Most populous county
- California: Los Angeles County (9,757,179 people) vs New Jersey: Bergen County (978,641 people).
- Los Angeles County's population is 10.0 times (897%) larger than Bergen County's.
Least populous county
- California: Alpine County (1,099 people) vs New Jersey: Salem County (65,874 people).
- Salem County's population is 59.9 times larger than Alpine County's.
Richest county
- California: Marin County ($190,891 per capita income) vs New Jersey: Somerset County ($121,042).
- Marin County's income is 1.6 times (58%) richer than Somerset County's.
Poorest county
- California: Trinity County ($42,191 per capita income) vs New Jersey: Cumberland County ($50,843).
- Cumberland County's income is 1.2 times (21%) richer than Trinity County's.
California vs New Jersey Taxes
State income tax
- California has a top income tax rate of 13.3%, while New Jersey has a top income tax rate of 10.75%.
- California's top rate is 2.55 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- California: 0.71% effective rate vs New Jersey: 1.89% of home value per year.
- New Jersey's rate is 1.18 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- California: 9.03% combined state and average local rate vs New Jersey: 6.6%.
- California's combined rate is 2.43 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
California official website · New Jersey official website
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More Size Comparisons
All California size comparisons · All New Jersey 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.