The square inch is a unit of area and is an imperial unit with the symbol in².
One square inch is equal in area to a square with edges one inch in length.
The square inch is a common unit of measurement in the UK and US.
The circular mil is a unit designed specifically to measure the area of a wire with a circular cross section. It has the symbol cmil.
An inch is 1000 mils. This makes the circular mil particularly useful for measuring cross sections of wire as there is no need to use the symbol π so the process is simplified.
A circular mil is a very small unit so not advised to use for large areas!