/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61386463/los_angeles_sprawl.0.0.0.0.jpg)
A common, frequent complaint about Los Angeles is that it’s so big and so sprawling that it feels like it goes on forever. Is it really? Does it really?
To get a better grasp of LA’s relative size, self-storage-focused website Spare Foot has used a mapping tool (unfortunately) named MAPfrappe to superimpose LA’s city limits over the borders of other major cities, states, and even a few landmarks. The pairings also show how LA compares to other metropolises in terms of land area, population, and density per square mile.
In terms of population, LA’s not too different from Chicago, which has about 1 million fewer people, but Chicago is half LA’s size and has about 3,600 more people per square mile. San Francisco, Boston, and New York trounce LA in terms of density; Anchorage, Houston, and San Diego are significantly less dense than LA, while Seattle has barely fewer people per square mile.
Editor markup for los angeles size comparisons. This is only visible in the story editor.
- How Big is Los Angeles, Actually? [Spare Foot]
- Los Angeles is the Least Sprawling Big City in the US [Curbed LA]
- Moving to LA 6
-
Find your home—rent or buy
12
- Is it better to buy or rent?
- What you can buy, what you can rent
- The Los Angeles renters’ guide
- A guide to rent control
- 10 renters’ rights your landlord doesn’t want you to know
- 13 glamorous apartments from Hollywood’s Golden Age
- The best rental apps for LA apartment hunting
- Feast your eyes on Curbed’s best LA home tours
- The Los Angeles homebuying guide
- What it’s like to buy a house in Los Angeles
- Buying vacant lots in LA: 6 things to know
- Will your building hold up in a major earthquake?
-
Learn how to get around
11
- 9 tips for riding Metro like a pro
- Why we can’t rely on Metro’s countdown clocks
- Metro’s declining ridership, explained
- The most anticipated transit projects opening in time for the 2028 LA Olympics
- Metro’s Regional Connector, explained
- A quick guide to LAX
- Four LA bike rides: Explore the city on two wheels
- 8 secrets you learn being an Uber driver in Los Angeles
- LA’s most beautiful bike path: The Strand through Santa Monica
- LA’s worst commute: The hellish drive from East Hollywood to Santa Monica
- Old photos show the evolution of transportation in LA
-
Do all of the best things
9
- 26 must-do things in LA this summer
- The 11 best hotel pools, mapped
- The best things to do with kids that aren’t Disneyland
- Dodger Stadium: The ultimate guide to LA’s ballpark
- The Hollywood Sign: The 7 best hikes and viewing options
- 12 of the city’s most glorious movie theaters
- A guide to surviving—and enjoying—The Grove
- Los Angeles heatwave hangouts: 24 free and air conditioned places to beat the heat
- LA’s coolest ride: Angels Flight is a trip back in time
-
Get to know LA’s iconic places and architecture
14
- An illustrated guide to Los Angeles architecture
- The ultimate guide to Los Angeles movie and television filming locations
- The 20 most iconic buildings in the city, mapped
- The Case Study houses that made Los Angeles a modernist mecca
- An introduction to Googie, SoCal's signature architectural style
- The 10 best Art Deco buildings
- A complete guide to Grand Central Market
- 18 places where black architects left their mark
- Mapped: The historic, stately homes of West Adams Boulevard
- A full tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House
- Take a video tour through Pasadena’s iconic Gamble House
- Inside the iconic John Lautner Residence
- The sordid and possibly murderous secrets of the Sowden House
- Take a tour through LA’s Art Deco City Hall
-
Go outside, and acclimate
10
- Hikes in Los Angeles: 9 trails with spectacular endings
- 7 hikes off the Gold Line
- 10 questions with LA’s hiking guru Casey Schreiner of Modern Hiker
- 29 secret gardens and green spaces hidden around LA
- Los Angeles picnic spots: 20 of the best places to lay out a blanket
- The city’s enchanting jacaranda trees are key to its future
- Who Will Save LA’s Trees?
- The myth and truth behind the Los Angeles ‘Devil Winds’
- Is the city losing its marine layer?
- The 18 cleanest beaches
-
Love LA, and make it better
9
- 101 things to love about Los Angeles
- A video primer on the unique, shimmery light of Los Angeles
- Building a Downtown for everyone
- Seize the Hollywood Sign
- LA history 101
- The thrill of Sugar Hill
- How ’80s pop culture typecast the Valley
- 14 must-follow Instagram accounts for LA lovers
- 7 Ways to Help L.A.’s Homeless Residents
-
Get out of town
9
- 19 small towns around LA you should absolutely visit
- Ghost towns of the desert
- The best places to stay on a road trip from Los Angeles
- 23 things to do in the California desert
- The best hotels in Palm Springs
- California’s best midcentury motels, mapped
- The West Coast's 15 must-see midcentury modern buildings
- 6 awesome campsites within about an hour of Los Angeles
- Where to find fall colors near Los Angeles
Loading comments...