Boston to Washington, DC distance

Boston to Washington, DC by road

The fastest driving route is 439 miles (707 km) long and takes about 9 hr 15 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-95 (165 mi), I-90 (54.8 mi), and the New Jersey Turnpike (50.8 mi).

It crosses 6 states and Washington, DC: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC. The longest stretch is in New Jersey, at 124 mi. That’s an average of 48 mph (77 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 4 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 10 hr 35 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, Boston and Washington, DC are 395 miles (635 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 11% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 111. The route runs almost straight. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 23rd for detour (the average is 14%).

From Boston, Washington, DC lies to the southwest (bearing 235°), and from Washington, DC, Boston lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches Washington, DC on a bearing of 231°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Boston and Washington, DC

Halfway along the straight line, 197 miles (318 km) from each city, is the point 40.6657° N, 74.1253° W. It falls near Kean University (New Jersey, pop. 1,362), 5.7 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 220 miles (353 km) from each city, near Silver Lake (New Jersey, pop. 3,917), 3.9 mi away. The two midpoints almost coincide (5.9 mi apart), because the road doesn’t stray far from the straight line.

Time zone and flight

Boston and Washington, DC share the same time all year: both are on Eastern Time.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 20 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 635 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Boston and Washington, DC sit at almost the same elevation: 48 ft (15 m) and 24 ft (7 m).

Boston has 672,973 people and Washington, DC 693,645 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).