The map above shows District of Columbia and Pennsylvania side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania Geography
Land area
- District of Columbia has a land area of 61 square miles (158 km²), while Pennsylvania has 44,742 square miles (115,882 km²).
- Pennsylvania's land area is 733.4 times larger than District of Columbia's.
Total area
- District of Columbia: 68 square miles (177 km²) vs Pennsylvania: 46,054 square miles (119,279 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- Pennsylvania's total area is 673.9 times larger than District of Columbia's.
Length
- District of Columbia is 13 miles (22 km) long from north to south; Pennsylvania is 284 miles (458 km).
- Pennsylvania's north-south length is 21.8 times longer than District of Columbia's.
Width
- District of Columbia spans 12 miles (19 km) east to west; Pennsylvania spans 307 miles (495 km).
- Pennsylvania's east-west width is 25.6 times wider than District of Columbia's.
Highest point
- District of Columbia's highest point is Fort Reno at 429 feet (131 m); Pennsylvania's is Mount Davis at 3,210 feet (978 m).
- Mount Davis is 2,781 feet higher than Fort Reno.
Lowest point
- District of Columbia's lowest point is Potomac River at 0 feet; Pennsylvania's is Delaware River at 0 feet.
- Both lowest points are at or near sea level.
District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania Population and History
Population
- District of Columbia has a population of 702,250 (2024), while Pennsylvania has 13,078,751 (2024).
- Pennsylvania's population is 18.6 times larger than District of Columbia's.
Population density
- District of Columbia: 11,493.5 people per square mile vs Pennsylvania: 292.3.
- District of Columbia's population density is 39.3 times higher than Pennsylvania's.
Biggest city
- District of Columbia's biggest city is Washington with 702,250 people; Pennsylvania's is Philadelphia with 1,573,916.
- Philadelphia's population is 2.2 times (124%) larger than Washington's.
Largest metro area
- District of Columbia's largest metropolitan area is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (6,436,489 people) vs Pennsylvania's Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (6,330,422).
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area have about the same population.
History
- District of Columbia: The federal district, established by the Residence Act on July 16, 1790; not a state.
- Pennsylvania: Admitted to the Union on December 12, 1787, as the 2nd state.
- In its current form, Pennsylvania is the older of the two by 3 years.
District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania Economy
GDP
- District of Columbia's GDP is $184.3 billion (2024) vs Pennsylvania's $1,007.9 billion.
- Pennsylvania's economic output is 5.5 times (447%) larger than District of Columbia's.
GDP per capita
- District of Columbia: $262,439 per person vs Pennsylvania: $77,062.
- District of Columbia's GDP per capita is 3.4 times (241%) higher than Pennsylvania's.
Average income
- District of Columbia: $111,185 vs Pennsylvania: $70,678 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- District of Columbia's average income is 1.6 times (57%) higher than Pennsylvania's.
District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania Counties
Number of counties
- District of Columbia has 1 counties, while Pennsylvania has 67.
- Pennsylvania's county count is 67.0 times higher than District of Columbia's.
Biggest county by area
- District of Columbia's largest county is District of Columbia at 61 square miles; Pennsylvania's is Lycoming County at 1,229 square miles.
- Lycoming County's land area is 20.1 times larger than District of Columbia's.
Smallest county by area
- District of Columbia: District of Columbia (61 sq mi) vs Pennsylvania: Montour County (130 sq mi).
- Montour County's land area is 2.1 times (113%) larger than District of Columbia's.
Most populous county
- District of Columbia: District of Columbia (702,250 people) vs Pennsylvania: Philadelphia County (1,573,916 people).
- Philadelphia County's population is 2.2 times (124%) larger than District of Columbia's.
Least populous county
- District of Columbia: District of Columbia (702,250 people) vs Pennsylvania: Cameron County (4,348 people).
- District of Columbia's population is 161.5 times larger than Cameron County's.
Richest county
- District of Columbia: District of Columbia ($111,185 per capita income) vs Pennsylvania: Chester County ($110,883).
- District of Columbia and Chester County have about the same income.
Poorest county
- District of Columbia: District of Columbia ($111,185 per capita income) vs Pennsylvania: Forest County ($30,234).
- District of Columbia's income is 3.7 times (268%) richer than Forest County's.
District of Columbia vs Pennsylvania Taxes
State income tax
- District of Columbia has a top income tax rate of 10.75%, while Pennsylvania has a top income tax rate of 3.07%.
- District of Columbia's top rate is 7.68 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- District of Columbia: 0.63% effective rate vs Pennsylvania: 1.16% of home value per year.
- Pennsylvania's rate is 0.53 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- District of Columbia: 6% combined state and average local rate vs Pennsylvania: 6.34%.
- Pennsylvania's combined rate is 0.34 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
District of Columbia official website · Pennsylvania official website
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More Size Comparisons
All District of Columbia size comparisons · All Pennsylvania 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.