New York to Miami distance

New York to Miami by road

The fastest driving route is 1,279 miles (2,058 km) long and takes about 24 hr 10 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-95 (915 mi) and I-295 (79.4 mi).

It crosses 8 states: New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The longest stretch is in Florida, at 374 mi. That’s an average of 53 mph (85 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 12 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 28 hr 10 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 4-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 Miami are 1,089 miles (1,753 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 17% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 117. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 10th for detour (the average is 14%).

From New York, Miami lies to the south (bearing 201°), and from Miami, New York lies to the north. The straight line reaches Miami on a bearing of 198°: 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 Miami

Halfway along the straight line, 545 miles (877 km) from each city, is the point 33.2870° N, 77.3648° W. It falls in the water; the closest place is Bald Head Island (North Carolina, pop. 279), 53.4 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 639 miles (1,029 km) from each city, near Danwood (South Carolina, pop. 392), 8.3 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Carolina Forest (South Carolina, pop. 26,263), 62.1 mi away. The two midpoints are 157 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

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

A direct flight would take about 2 hr 40 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 1,753 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 and Miami sit at almost the same elevation: 35 ft (11 m) and 6 ft (2 m).

New York has 8.6 million people and Miami 489,812 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).