Atlanta to Nashville distance

Atlanta to Nashville by road

The fastest driving route is 249 miles (400 km) long and takes about 4 hr 45 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-24 (133 mi) and I-75 (109 mi).

It goes through 2 states: Georgia (112 mi) and Tennessee (137 mi). That’s an average of 53 mph (85 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 2 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 5 hr 25 min. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Atlanta and Nashville are 215 miles (346 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 16% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 116. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 15th for detour (the average is 14%).

From Atlanta, Nashville lies to the northwest (bearing 321°), and from Nashville, Atlanta lies to the southeast.

Halfway between Atlanta and Nashville

Halfway along the straight line, 108 miles (173 km) from each city, is the point 34.9635° N, 85.5686° W. It falls near Whiteside (Tennessee, pop. 33), 5.1 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 124 miles (200 km) from each city, near Wildwood (Georgia, pop. 368), 1.1 mi away. The two midpoints are 8.9 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time difference and flight

Nashville is 1 hour behind Atlanta all year (Central Time versus Eastern Time): when it’s 12:00 in Atlanta, it’s 11:00 in Nashville.

No flight time is given: under 500 km (311 miles) in a straight line, time at the airport outweighs time in the air.

The two cities

Atlanta sits at 1,050 ft (320 m) and Nashville at 555 ft (169 m), 495 ft (151 m) lower.

Atlanta has 529,110 people and Nashville 721,074 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).