Elevation of Modesto
88ft
above sea level · 27 m
Modesto is a city in California with 219,652 people, the 20th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 69th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 37.64° N · 121.00° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 37° 38′ 21″ N · 120° 59′ 49″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 10S · 676,736 E · 4,167,660 N
- Zone 10 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- UTC−8 · UTC−7 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 219,652 people
- 43.4 sq mi of land · 5,066 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from September 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Modesto had 219,652 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 0.5% more than in April 2020, when it had 218,485. Its 43.4 sq mi of land work out to 5,066 people/sq mi; the state average is 253 people/sq mi.
It’s the 20th most populous of the 1,617 places the Census counts in California (cities, towns and CDPs), after Los Angeles (3,869,089), and holds 0.6% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Stanislaus County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.4 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Modesto sits at 88 ft (27 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Modesto is 774 ft below it.
The state capital, Sacramento, is 71 mi away in a straight line and 61 ft lower than Modesto.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Stockton, 27 mi away in a straight line and 76 ft lower.
Of the 75 cities in California with a page, Modesto is the 27th lowest: the highest is Hesperia (3,178 ft) and the lowest is Stockton (12 ft).
The highest point in California is Mount Whitney, at 14,494 ft according to the USGS: 14,406 ft above Modesto, 166 mi away in a straight line.
- 181 Modesto 88 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Modesto.
What is the elevation of Modesto?
Modesto is 88 feet (27 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Modesto?
Latitude 37.63910 and longitude -120.99688, in decimal degrees (37° 38′ 21″ N · 120° 59′ 49″ W). In UTM, zone 10: 676,736 E and 4,167,660 N, on NAD83.
How does Modesto rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 69th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Modesto in?
Stanislaus County, California.
Which is higher, Modesto or Sacramento?
Modesto. Modesto sits at 88 ft and Sacramento at 27 ft: a difference of 61 ft, 71 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know