The map above shows California and Utah side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
California vs Utah Geography
Land area
- California has a land area of 155,859 square miles (403,673 km²), while Utah has 82,596 square miles (213,922 km²).
- California's land area is 1.9 times (89%) larger than Utah's.
Total area
- California: 163,694 square miles (423,965 km²) vs Utah: 84,898 square miles (219,885 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- California's total area is 1.9 times (93%) larger than Utah's.
Length
- California is 761 miles (1,224 km) long from north to south; Utah is 436 miles (702 km).
- California's north-south length is 1.7 times (75%) longer than Utah's.
Width
- California spans 706 miles (1,137 km) east to west; Utah spans 268 miles (431 km).
- California's east-west width is 2.6 times (163%) wider than Utah's.
Highest point
- California's highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,484 feet (4,415 m); Utah's is Kings Peak at 13,512 feet (4,118 m).
- Mount Whitney is 972 feet higher than Kings Peak.
Lowest point
- California's lowest point is Death Valley at -279 feet; Utah's is Beaver Dam Wash at 2,180 feet.
- California's lowest point is 2,459 feet lower.
California vs Utah Population and History
Population
- California has a population of 39,431,263 (2024), while Utah has 3,503,613 (2024).
- California's population is 11.3 times larger than Utah's.
Population density
- California: 253.0 people per square mile vs Utah: 42.4.
- California's population density is 6.0 times (497%) higher than Utah's.
Biggest city
- California's biggest city is Los Angeles with 3,878,704 people; Utah's is Salt Lake City with 217,783.
- Los Angeles' population is 17.8 times larger than Salt Lake City's.
Largest metro area
- California's largest metropolitan area is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (12,927,614 people) vs Utah's Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metro area (1,300,762).
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area's population is 9.9 times (894%) larger than Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metro area's.
History
- California: Admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state.
- Utah: Admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896, as the 45th state.
- In its current form, California is the older of the two by 46 years.
California vs Utah Economy
GDP
- California's GDP is $4,048.1 billion (2024) vs Utah's $299.5 billion.
- California's economic output is 13.5 times larger than Utah's.
GDP per capita
- California: $102,662 per person vs Utah: $85,475.
- California's GDP per capita is 1.2 times (20%) higher than Utah's.
Average income
- California: $86,232 vs Utah: $67,333 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- California's average income is 1.3 times (28%) higher than Utah's.
California vs Utah Counties
Number of counties
- California has 58 counties, while Utah has 29.
- California's county count is 2.0 times (100%) higher than Utah's.
Biggest county by area
- California's largest county is San Bernardino County at 20,068 square miles; Utah's is San Juan County at 7,824 square miles.
- San Bernardino County's land area is 2.6 times (157%) larger than San Juan County's.
Smallest county by area
- California: San Francisco County (47 sq mi) vs Utah: Davis County (325 sq mi).
- Davis County's land area is 7.0 times (596%) larger than San Francisco County's.
Most populous county
- California: Los Angeles County (9,757,179 people) vs Utah: Salt Lake County (1,216,274 people).
- Los Angeles County's population is 8.0 times (702%) larger than Salt Lake County's.
Least populous county
- California: Alpine County (1,099 people) vs Utah: Daggett County (956 people).
- Alpine County's population is 1.1 times (15%) larger than Daggett County's.
Richest county
- California: Marin County ($190,891 per capita income) vs Utah: Summit County ($280,510).
- Summit County's income is 1.5 times (47%) richer than Marin County's.
Poorest county
- California: Trinity County ($42,191 per capita income) vs Utah: Beaver County ($39,179).
- Trinity County's income is 1.1 times (8%) richer than Beaver County's.
California vs Utah Taxes
State income tax
- California has a top income tax rate of 13.3%, while Utah has a top income tax rate of 4.5%.
- California's top rate is 8.8 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- California: 0.71% effective rate vs Utah: 0.49% of home value per year.
- California's rate is 0.22 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- California: 9.03% combined state and average local rate vs Utah: 7.42%.
- California's combined rate is 1.61 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
California official website · Utah official website
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More Size Comparisons
All California size comparisons · All Utah 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.