Distance Between Cities
Pick any two US cities or towns from the Census list of 32,000 places and get the miles between them in a straight line and by road, plus the distance to the largest US cities.
Looking this up…
Loading 32,333 US cities and towns from the Census Gazetteer…
How to find the distance between two cities
- Type the first city. Start typing and pick from the suggestions, or write it as City, ST.
- Type the second city. Ambiguous names like Springfield show a list of matches to choose from.
- Read the distance. Straight-line miles first, then the driving distance and time.
- Compare with big cities. The table lists the distance from your first city to the ten largest US cities.
Why people compare city distances
Road trip planning
See how far apart the stops are before choosing a route.
Relocation
Compare how far a new city is from family or a current job.
Sports and school travel
Distances between game or campus towns.
Business territories
How far a rep's cities are from the home office.
Choosing a flight or a drive
Under a few hundred miles, driving is often comparable door to door.
Shipping estimates
City-to-city mileage for a freight or moving quote.
Trivia and geography
Which big city is closest to a small town?
Small towns
Every Census place is included, down to villages and unincorporated communities (CDPs).
Where the cities and distances come from
The list of cities is the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places: every incorporated city, town, village and borough and every Census Designated Place in the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, each with an internal point near its middle, its land area and its 2019–2023 American Community Survey population.
Straight-line distances are measured between those internal points with Vincenty's formula on the WGS84 ellipsoid, so they are city-centre to city-centre, not edge to edge.
Driving distances and times come from OSRM over OpenStreetMap roads on the FOSSGIS servers, at typical speeds with no traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the 'centre' of a city?
The Census Bureau's internal point for the place, which lies inside its boundary near the middle. Downtown may be elsewhere, especially in large or oddly shaped cities.
Why can't I find my town?
Only places the Census Bureau recognises are listed. Some neighbourhoods and postal names are not separate places — try the nearest city, or use Distance Between Two Places with an address.
What is a CDP?
A Census Designated Place: a named community with no city government, defined for statistics.
Does it cover cities outside the US?
No. For anywhere in the world, use Distance Between Two Places.
How accurate is the driving time?
It assumes typical road speeds and no traffic or stops, so real trips usually take longer.
Is the population current?
It is the American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimate, the most recent release for all places.
Related tools
As the Crow Flies Distance Calculator
Enter two places and get the straight-line distance between them in miles, kilometres and nautical miles, measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid, with the compass bearing and the route on a map.
Vincenty (1975) geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid
Halfway Point Between Two Cities Calculator
Enter two cities or addresses and get the exact halfway point between them — or any split you choose — with the nearest named place and the distance from each side.
Vincenty (1975) geodesic midpoint on WGS84, OpenStreetMap place names
Random Location Generator
Generate truly uniform random coordinates anywhere on Earth, inside a box, or within a radius of a place — with an option to skip open sea and the points shown on a map.
Uniform sphere point picking (MathWorld) with Web Crypto randomness
Radius Map
Draw one or more true-distance circles in miles or kilometres around any address on a map, see the area each covers, and check whether another place falls inside.
Geodesic circles on WGS84 over OpenStreetMap tiles
Bearing Calculator
Enter two places or click a map and get the true and magnetic bearing from one to the other, the bearing on arrival, the back bearing and the constant-heading rhumb line.
Vincenty inverse on WGS84; NOAA/BGS World Magnetic Model 2025
Distance Between Two Places
Enter any two addresses or places and get both the straight-line distance and the driving, cycling or walking distance and time, drawn on a map.
Vincenty on WGS84; OSRM routing over OpenStreetMap (FOSSGIS)