The state of Florida is bigger than England.
Florida Is Bigger Than England (And Nobody Believes It)
If you told someone Florida is bigger than England, they'd probably laugh. Maps make Florida look like a modest peninsula while England anchors a respectable island nation. But the numbers don't lie: Florida sprawls across 65,755 square miles, while England covers just 50,301 square miles. Florida is roughly 1.3 times larger.
That's an extra 15,454 square miles—enough space to fit the entire state of Maryland with room to spare. Yet most people get this backwards, and it's not their fault. Blame the Mercator projection.
Why Maps Lie to You
The Mercator projection, used in most world maps, distorts size as you move away from the equator. England sits at 51-53°N latitude while Florida lounges at 25-31°N. This northern position makes England appear inflated on flat maps, while Florida gets visually squished.
The result? Your brain has been trained to see England as the bigger territory when it's actually significantly smaller. It's cartographic sleight of hand.
The Numbers in Perspective
Let's break down what Florida's extra space actually means:
- Florida: 65,755 square miles (170,305 km²)
- England: 50,301 square miles (130,278 km²)
- Difference: 15,454 square miles—larger than Massachusetts, New Jersey, or Hawaii
Florida is only the 22nd largest U.S. state. It's dwarfed by Alaska, Texas, and California. Yet it casually outmuscles England, the largest country in the United Kingdom.
Population: The Plot Twist
Here's where things flip. Despite having more land, Florida has fewer people. England packs in approximately 57 million residents while Florida houses around 23 million. England's population density is nearly 3 times higher.
This means England feels bigger if you're measuring by cities, culture, and history per square mile. But in pure geographic terms? Florida wins, and it's not close.
So next time someone scoffs at the idea that a single U.S. state could dwarf England, hit them with the facts. Florida is proof that our mental maps—shaped by projections, assumptions, and centuries of Anglocentric cartography—don't always match reality. The Sunshine State is bigger, and the math backs it up.