Introduction
The Distance Between Cities Calculator tells you how far apart two places are. Type a city, address, or landmark in the From box and another one in the To box. Then press Calculate Distance. You get an answer in miles, kilometers, and nautical miles at the same time.
You see two kinds of distance. The first is the straight-line distance, also called "as the crow flies." That is the path a plane would take over the curve of the Earth. The second is the driving distance, which follows real roads. Roads bend and curve, so this number is almost always bigger.
The tool also shows you more than just numbers. You get the compass direction between the two spots, the midpoint of the trip, an estimated drive time, and an estimated flight time. A map draws both paths so you can see the route. You can pick from up to three driving routes and read turn-by-turn directions for each one.
This calculator is useful for planning a road trip, checking a flight, comparing two cities before a move, or finding a fair meeting spot with a friend. A step-by-step section shows the math behind each answer, so you can follow how the distance was found.
How to use our Distance Between Cities Calculator
Enter two places and the calculator shows the straight-line (air) distance, the driving distance, the travel direction, the midpoint, and the estimated drive and flight times in miles, kilometers and nautical miles.
From: Type your starting city, address or landmark, like "New York, NY, USA". Pick a match from the suggestion list so the calculator uses the right spot on the map.
To: Type the city, address or place you are going to. Add a state, region or country if the name is common, so you get the correct location.
Primary unit (directions & chart): Choose miles, kilometers or nautical miles. This sets the unit used in the turn-by-turn directions and the bar chart. The main totals always show all three units.
Calculate Distance: Press this button to get your results, route options, map and step-by-step math.
Swap Locations: Press this to flip the From and To cities and see the trip in reverse.
Clear: Press this to empty both fields and start a new distance search.
Distance Between Cities
The distance between two cities can mean two different things. The straight-line distance is the shortest path over the Earth's surface, like a bird or plane would fly. The driving distance is how far you really travel by road, following highways and streets. Driving distance is almost always longer, because roads curve, go around mountains, lakes, and cities.
Straight-Line (As the Crow Flies) Distance
Earth is round, so you cannot just draw a flat line between two cities. The shortest path along the surface of a ball is an arc of a great circle.1 The haversine formula, from spherical trigonometry, uses the latitude and longitude of both cities to find this length.1 On a flat Mercator map a great circle appears as a curve, which is why long flights look curved.1
Driving Distance and Detour Ratio
Road distance is measured by adding up every road segment along the route, so it is almost always longer than the air distance. If you divide the road distance by the straight-line distance, you get the detour ratio. A ratio near 1.1 means the roads are pretty direct. A ratio of 1.5 or more means big detours, like driving around a bay or a mountain range.
Bearing and Midpoint
Bearing is the compass direction you head at the start of the trip, from 0° (north) to 360°. On long trips the bearing slowly changes, because the direction of a great circle changes continually.1 The midpoint is the halfway spot along that path. It is handy for planning a meeting place, a rest stop, or a layover.
Miles, Kilometers, and Nautical Miles
The United States and the United Kingdom use miles. Most other countries use kilometers. One mile equals about 1.609 kilometers.2 Pilots and sailors use nautical miles, which equal exactly 1.852 kilometers, or about 1.151 miles.2 One nautical mile is one minute of latitude, which makes map work easier at sea and in the air.3
Travel Time Estimates
Flight time uses a set cruise speed of 925 km/h (about 575 mph). Real flights take longer because of taxiing, climbing, waiting, and wind. Driving time uses average road speed with normal traffic flow. Rush hour, road work, weather, and rest stops all add time, so treat these numbers as a starting guess, not a promise.
When There Is No Road Route
Some city pairs are split by an ocean or a sea, like New York and London. For those trips only the air distance, bearing, and midpoint make sense. You would need a flight or a ferry, not a car.