I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, but it’s really far away from where I live, and I don’t have that much ambition. The continent-country is about 78% the size of the U.S. by both land area and population. The largest city is Sydney, with a population of 5.4 million as of 2020. There are five cities that have more than a million residents. The U.S. has ten such cities, with New York being the largest with 8.8 million. Since I’ll probably never get to The Land Down Under myself, let’s look at some city distances compared to those in the U.S.A.

Sydney – Perth / New York – Flagstaff

One of the farthest flights you can take within Australia is Sydney to Perth on the west coast at a distance of 2044 miles (3290 km). You don’t have to go all the way to the west coast of the U.S. to travel the same distance from New York City. A trip to Flagstaff, Arizona will do the trick at 2069 miles (3330 km). Perth is Australia’s fourth largest city by population. At 2.1 million residents, it is just a little smaller than Houston, Texas.

Sydney – Darwin / New York – Butte

Another relatively long trip in Australia is from Sydney to Darwin in the Northern Territory. The distance between the two is 1956 miles (3148 km), which is almost exactly the same as New York to Butte, Montana (1950 miles / 3139 km). Darwin is comparably small by American standards at under 150,000 people, but that’s over four times that of Butte. It’s more like Savannah, Georgia.

Sydney – Brisbane / New York – Sandusky

Taking a trip north from Sydney up by Gold Coast to Brisbane is a distance of 455 miles (733 km). I found a city that’s the same distance from New York to within a mile: The Roller Coaster Capital of America – Sandusky, Ohio. With 2.5 million residents, Brisbane is just a little smaller than Chicago, and the third most populous in Australia.

Sydney – Melbourne / New York – Raleigh

If we head in the opposite direction and go about the same distance south from Sydney, we get to Australia’s second-largest city: Melbourne. The two are 443 miles (713 km) apart, which is kind of like New York to Raleigh, North Carolina at 424 miles (682 km). Australia seems to be a lot like Canada in that each country has a lot of land area, but the vast majority of the population is only in a few spots.

Sydney – Coober Pedy / New York – Des Moines

I have to admit, the only reason I know about Coober Pedy is that the 2000 film Pitch Black was shot there. The little town of under 2,000 people is 1024 miles (1649 km) from Sydney. A similar trip from New York to a desolate place would be Des Moines, Iowa (1020 miles / 1641 km). I’m just kidding, Des Moines has a population over 200,000.

Sydney – Hobart / New York – Louisville

The island state of Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart is also the seventh most populous in the country at nearly a quarter million. The 657 mile (1057 km) trip from Sydney includes crossing the Bass Strait. To travel that distance in the U.S., you’d have to go all the way to Louisville, Kentucky from New York City. If you compare populations, Hobart is about the size of Norfolk, Virginia.