Compare county area
How much larger is one county than another? Compare the same Census measurements, with a visual sense of scale.
| Measurement | Los Angeles County, California | Cook County, Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Land area | 4,060.292 mi² | 944.93 mi² |
| Water area | 689.148 mi² | 689.71 mi² |
| Total area | 4,749.44 mi² | 1,634.64 mi² |
| Population (2025) | 9,694,934 | 5,194,625 |
| People per mi² of land | 2,388 | 5,497 |
Los Angeles County, California has 3,115.362 mi² more land than Cook County, Illinois, or 329.7% more.
Land area to scale
View Los Angeles County, California · View Cook County, Illinois
How to interpret an area comparison
The initial example compares Los Angeles County, California, with Cook County, Illinois. Select another pair by name or five-digit GEOID. Shared links restore both counties and the unit selection when JavaScript and comparison data are available; otherwise the initial example remains visible.
Percentage difference depends on the baseline
The result reports how much more land the larger county has, using the smaller county as the baseline. In the initial example, the difference of 3,115.362 mi² is divided by Cook County’s 944.93 mi² and multiplied by 100. That is different from asking what percentage of Los Angeles County’s land Cook County represents (23.3%). Swapping the selectors changes their order, but keeps the smaller-county baseline.
Choose a measure before drawing a conclusion
Use land area to compare the extent of land within the two county equivalents. Use total area when your question includes assigned water. Neither measure establishes population density, travel time, developable space, or how much land is publicly accessible. County outline maps on separate profiles are fitted independently; the bars here provide a shared linear scale.
Changing units multiplies both measurements by the same factor, so it preserves the size ratio. One square mile is 2.58998811 square kilometers or 640 acres. For very close comparisons, consult each county’s original square-meter measurements: displayed square-mile values are already rounded by the source.