One square mile is exactly 2.589988110336 square kilometers, about 2.59 km². That is 1.609344 squared, since a mile is exactly 1,609.344 meters. Multiply square miles by 2.59 to get square kilometers. People need this direction when a US area figure has to go into a metric report, an international comparison or a scientific dataset, or when a US figure has to be compared with a country, region or park measured in metric.
Formula
Square Miles to Square Kilometers conversion table
| Square Miles | Square Kilometers |
|---|---|
| 0.25 mi² | 0.647497 km² |
| 0.5 mi² | 1.295 km² |
| 1 mi² | 2.59 km² |
| 2 mi² | 5.18 km² |
| 3 mi² | 7.77 km² |
| 4 mi² | 10.36 km² |
| 5 mi² | 12.9499 km² |
| 6 mi² | 15.5399 km² |
| 7 mi² | 18.1299 km² |
| 8 mi² | 20.7199 km² |
| 9 mi² | 23.3099 km² |
| 10 mi² | 25.8999 km² |
| 15 mi² | 38.8498 km² |
| 20 mi² | 51.7998 km² |
| 25 mi² | 64.7497 km² |
| 30 mi² | 77.6996 km² |
| 40 mi² | 103.5995 km² |
| 50 mi² | 129.4994 km² |
| 60 mi² | 155.3993 km² |
| 70 mi² | 181.2992 km² |
| 75 mi² | 194.2491 km² |
| 80 mi² | 207.199 km² |
| 90 mi² | 233.0989 km² |
| 100 mi² | 258.9988 km² |
| 250 mi² | 647.497 km² |
| 500 mi² | 1,294.99 km² |
| 1,000 mi² | 2,589.99 km² |
Where you’ll use it
US counties, watersheds, city limits and federal lands are commonly given in square miles. Researchers, journalists writing for an international audience and anyone filling in metric forms convert them to square kilometers. A US section of land, one square mile, is about 2.59 km², and a 10-square-mile area is about 25.9 km². Because land registries in metric countries never use square miles, this conversion is mostly about communicating size, not ownership.
Tip: Multiplying by 1.609, the linear mile factor, is a common slip that understates the area by about 38%. Use 2.59 for area, which is 1.609344 squared, and round only the final answer.