New York to Atlanta distance

New York to Atlanta by road

The fastest driving route is 880 miles (1,416 km) long and takes about 16 hr 55 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-81 (369 mi), I-85 (234 mi), and I-78 (137 mi).

It crosses 8 states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The longest stretch is in Virginia, at 276 mi. That’s an average of 52 mph (84 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 8 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 19 hr 35 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 3-day drive. 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, New York and Atlanta are 746 miles (1,201 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 18% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 118. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 8th for detour (the average is 14%).

From New York, Atlanta lies to the southwest (bearing 233°), and from Atlanta, New York lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches Atlanta on a bearing of 227°: 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 New York and Atlanta

Halfway along the straight line, 373 miles (601 km) from each city, is the point 37.3464° N, 79.4367° W. It falls near Big Island (Virginia, pop. 91), 13.5 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 440 miles (708 km) from each city, near Troutville (Virginia, pop. 468), 3.7 mi away. The two midpoints are 23.3 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

New York and Atlanta share the same time all year: both are on Eastern Time.

A direct flight would take about 2 hr. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 1,201 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

New York sits at 35 ft (11 m) and Atlanta at 1,050 ft (320 m), 1,015 ft (309 m) higher.

New York has 8.6 million people and Atlanta 529,110 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).