State size comparison

compared to

Iowa is about 2.8 times smaller than California.

California is approximately 403,882 sq km, while Iowa is approximately 144,701 sq km, making Iowa 35.83% the size of California. Meanwhile, the population of California is ~37.3 million people (34.2 million fewer people live in Iowa).
Tip: This to-scale comparison of California vs. Iowa uses the Mercator projection, which distorts the size of regions near the poles.
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Compare further: Iowa vs. California
Flip Comparison · See true size
See Iowa on top of California
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Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
California is 35.3% more expensive than Iowa
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