How big is Fresno? Here’s how quickly city is growing and why people flock here
It has more people than Miami and a larger land area than Tampa, Florida.
Just how big is Fresno? And what makes Central Valley city one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in California?
The Fresno Bee looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to see how Fresno compares to other California cities.
Here is what we found out:
How big is Fresno’s population? How quickly is it growing?
Fresno had an estimated population of 550,105 people as of July 1, 2024, according to Census data.
That’s an increase of 1.5% from April 2020, when Fresno had an estimated 542,235 residents, the Census Bureau reported.
The Fresno metro area saw a population boost of about 2% over the same period, Census data show, growing from 1,166,047 residents in 2020 to 1,189,557 in 2024.
Between 2023 and 2024, the Fresno metro area’s population grew by about half a percentage point, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.
In comparison, Miami had an estimated population of 487,014 people in 2024, and Atlanta had a estimated population of 520,070 residents, according to Census data.
According to World Population Review, Fresno ranked among the 35 most populated cities in the nation in 2025.
How does Fresno compare to other California cities?
According to California Demographics, Fresno ranked among the top five largest cities in California in terms of population.
Los Angeles had an estimated population of 3.8 million residents as of July 2024, according to the Census Bureau.
San Diego had approximately 1.4 million residents, Census data show, and an estimated 977,368 people were living in San Jose.
According to Census data, San Francisco had a total of 827,526 residents in July 2024.
In terms of population size, Fresno outpaced Sacramento, which had 535,798 residents, the Census Bureau said.
How big is Fresno in square miles?
The city of Fresno spanned a total of 115.18 square miles of land area in 2020, the most recent data available, according to the Census Bureau.
That’s roughly one square mile more than Tampa, Florida, and five square miles larger than Orlando.
Fresno County was the sixth largest county in California in terms of land area with 5,958.6 square miles, the Census Bureau said.
Is Fresno larger than Sacramento? Modesto?
According to the Census Bureau, Los Angeles was one of the biggest cities in California in terms of land area, covering a total of 469.49 square miles in 2020.
San Diego spanned a total of 325.88 square miles, Census data show, while California City covered 203.61 square miles and San Jose covered 178.26 square miles.
In terms of land area, the city of Fresno was significantly larger than its neighbors in the Central Valley.
The city of Sacramento covered 98.61 square miles in 2029, and the city of Modesto spanned 43.05 square miles.
Why are people moving to Fresno?
According to experts, factors that attract people to Fresno include its top-tier schools, quality health care and relatively low cost of living.
Fresno ranked No. 6 on a list of the Most Affordable Places to Live in California in 2025, according to Extra Space Storage, a Salt Lake City-based storage company.
As of Monday, June 16, the average Fresno home was valued at $392,447, an increase of less than 1% from the previous year, according to real estate website Zillow.
That’s more than $579,000 less than the median value of a home in Los Angeles — $970,969 — and about $716,000 less than the median home value in San Francisco, $1,295,237, Zillow said.
In addition, Fresno neighbors one of the highest rated cities in the region: Clovis.
The city of Clovis took the top spot on Niche’s list of Best Places to Live in the Fresno Area in 2024, and was named one of the 50 Safest and Most Affordable U.S. Cities to Live by personal finance website GoBankingRates.
Clovis also ranked among the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the US in 2025, according to Livability.com, an online resource aimed at helping small and mid-size cities, states and regions attract and retain residents and businesses.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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