State size comparison
compared to
California is about 2.8 times bigger than Illinois.
Illinois is approximately 143,961 sq km, while California is approximately 403,882 sq km, making California 181% larger than Illinois. Meanwhile, the population of Illinois is ~12.8 million people (24.4 million more people live in California).
Tip: This to-scale comparison of Illinois vs. California uses the Mercator projection, which distorts the size of regions near the poles. Try dragging the outline to reposition.
Compare further: California vs. Illinois
Flip Comparison · See true size
See California on top of Illinois
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Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics
Make 15.9% less money in Illinois
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Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Illinois is 12.5% cheaper than California
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Moving from California to Illinois · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Sacramento vs Chicago
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