Chengdu is significantly larger than New York City in both land area and population. The administrative area of Chengdu covers approximately 14,378 square kilometers (5,551 square miles), which is more than 18 times the land area of New York City's five boroughs, which total about 783 square kilometers (302 square miles). Even when comparing urban footprints, Chengdu's urban area of roughly 3,680 square kilometers remains much larger than New York's city limits. In terms of population, Chengdu is a megacity with over 21 million residents as of 2025, dwarfing New York City’s population of approximately 8.3 million. While the New York metropolitan area is vast and home to around 19 to 22 million people, Chengdu's own metropolitan population is also massive, and it sits within the even larger Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, which supports a population of nearly 100 million people.