City size comparison

compared to

San Francisco is about 3.9 times bigger than San Mateo.

San Mateo is approximately 31 sq km, while San Francisco (including the city proper only) is approximately 121 sq km, making San Francisco 285% larger than San Mateo.
Tip: This to-scale comparison of San Mateo vs. San Francisco uses the Mercator projection, which distorts the size of regions near the poles.
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Compare further: San Francisco vs. San Mateo

Flip Comparison · See true size
See San Francisco on top of San Mateo
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Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
San Mateo is 11.3% cheaper than San Francisco
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