Mapped: How Big Is the University of Texas Campus?

by John Egan
April 17, 2017

While the main campus of the University of Texas at Austin is known as the Forty Acres, the modern-day campus is actually more than 10 times that size.

Today, the UT campus covers 431 acres north of downtown Austin and the Texas Capitol. But back in 1839 -- the same year that Austin was designated the capital of Texas -- a 40-acre tract called College Hill was set aside for the university campus.

Not everyone favored establishing the university in the Capital City, though.

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“Parents were warned that sending their sons to school so close to lawmakers would be a terrible influence on their morals,” according to a history of Austin on the Austin History Center’s website.

Despite the opposition, Austin was chosen as the site for the new university in 1881, according to a history of UT on the university’s website. Construction on UT’s Main Building started in 1882. The following year, the university welcomed its first class -- 221 students.

Now, more than 50,000 students are enrolled at the 431-acre Austin campus. In all, over 65,000 students, faculty and staff make up the day-to-day community on the UT campus. That’s roughly 150 people per acre.

Sizing Up UT

To help you better visualize how big the UT campus is, we used an online mapping tool called MAPfrappe. This tool enabled us to trace the boundaries of the Austin campus (bordered in blue) and then lay the campus map on top of various well-known spots, including some school in College Station, TX.

On the maps below, you’ll see how the Forty Acres measures up to that school in College Station and other familiar places.

UT vs. PARIS

At 26,240 acres, the City of Lights swallows the home of the Longhorns.

UT vs. GRAND CANYON

Stretching across 1,218,376 acres, the Grand Canyon essentially could contain 2,827 UT campuses.

UT vs. MAR-A-LAGO

Sorry, Donald. Mar-a-Lago isn’t huge. At 20 acres, the president’s Florida estate is puny compared with the UT campus.

UT vs. MANHATTAN

The Donald can brag, though, that his other home away from the White House -- the island of Manhattan -- is “big league.” Manhattan encompasses 15,168 acres, vastly overshadowing the UT campus.

UT vs. TEXAS CAPITOL

About 22 acres surround the Capitol. No competition here: The UT campus handily wins this size contest.

UT vs. ZILKER PARK

Size-wise, the “Central Park of Texas” is fairly evenly matched with the UT campus. But at 371 acres, Zilker is slightly smaller.

UT vs. LAKE TRAVIS

In terms of size, Lake Travis drowns the UT campus. Lake Travis, west of Austin, covers 18,929 acres. That translates into 44 UT campuses.

UT vs. BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

Big Bend National Park in West Texas is really, really, really big -- to the tune of 801,163 acres. You can get lost on the UT campus, but Big Bend is far more of a navigational challenge.

UT vs. TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

UT may have more students, but the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock has a lot more land -- 1,839 acres, to be exact.

UT vs. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

UT may have more students, but the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock has a lot more land -- 1,839 acres, to be exact.

If you’re a Longhorn fan, you’re not going to like this: Texas A&M gigs UT in the land department. Comprising 5,115 acres, the A&M campus in College Station ranks as the largest college campus in Texas. Keep in mind that the main campus includes nearly 1,200 acres dedicated to the veterinary school and 2,170 acres allocated for Easterwood Airport; the core of the A&M campus occupies almost 1,580 acres, more than three times the size of the UT campus. As for which campus is better, that’s an entirely different story.

Data and Photo Sources

https://www.utexas.edu/about/facts-and-figures
https://admissions.utexas.edu/explore/forty-acres
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kcu09
http://texasalmanac.com/topics/education/beginnings-university-texas-and-texas-am-university
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/books/campusmasterplan/pdf/masterplan-3-spd.pdf
https://www.utexas.edu/about/history-and-traditions
https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris
www.nps.gov/grca/faqs.htm
http://www.maralagoclub.com/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=100012&ssid=100034&vnf=1
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-number-of-people-that-can-actually-fit-in-manhattan-2012-3
http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/prop/tcg/tcg/grounds.html
http://austintexas.gov/department/zilker-metropolitan-park
https://laketravis.com/visiting-lake-travis/
www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/management/park_sizes.htm
https://www.texastech.edu/fpc/master-plan.php
http://universityarchitect.tamu.edu/campus-evolution/
https://www.utexas.edu/about/overview