# How big is North Carolina?

North Carolina covers 53,819 square miles (139,391 km²), 48,618 of them land. About a tenth of it is water. It is the 28th-biggest state.

- 53,819 square miles
- 139,391 km²
- 34.4 million acres
- 26 million football fields

Interactive map, to drop it on any town at its true size: https://how-big-is.com/north-carolina/

## Long and narrow

It is about 503 miles long but only 191 miles wide, running from the Atlantic coast to Tennessee.

## How it compares

- 34.8× the size of [Rhode Island](https://how-big-is.com/rhode-island/), the smallest state
- ≈ 1× about the same size as [Arkansas](https://how-big-is.com/arkansas/)
- ≈ 1× about the same size as [New York State](https://how-big-is.com/new-york-state/)
- 8.1% of the area of [Alaska](https://how-big-is.com/alaska/), the largest state
- 199× the size of [the Little Giant Fire](https://how-big-is.com/little-giant-fire/)
- 34.4 million [acres](https://how-big-is.com/an-acre/)
- 26 million [American football fields](https://how-big-is.com/a-football-field/)
- 19.5 million [soccer pitches](https://how-big-is.com/a-soccer-field/)
- 40,859× the size of [Central Park](https://how-big-is.com/central-park/)
- 283,533× the size of [Vatican City](https://how-big-is.com/vatican-city/)
- 15.5× the size of [Yellowstone National Park](https://how-big-is.com/yellowstone-national-park/)
- 282× the size of [Lake Tahoe](https://how-big-is.com/lake-tahoe/)
- 6.4% of the area of [Greenland](https://how-big-is.com/greenland/)
- 196× the size of [Anglesey](https://how-big-is.com/anglesey/)
- 244× the size of [the Isle of Man](https://how-big-is.com/isle-of-man/)

## Questions people ask

**How many square miles is North Carolina?**
53,819 square miles (139,391 km²), 48,618 of them land.

**Is North Carolina bigger than South Carolina?**
Yes. It is about 1.7 times the size of South Carolina.

**Where does North Carolina rank by size?**
28th of the 50 states by total area, and 29th by land area.

**How long is North Carolina?**
About 503 miles (810 km) long and 191 miles (307 km) wide.

**How big is North Carolina compared to Texas?**
About 20% of the size of Texas.

## Where the numbers come from

Official figure: 53,819 square miles in all, 48,618 of them land, per the US Census Bureau. Outline: US Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/cartographic-boundary.html), licence: Public domain.

Credit: Map: how-big-is.com. Outline: US Census Bureau.