Elevation of Lansing
853ft
above sea level · 260 m
Lansing is the capital of Michigan. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 17th highest. The state’s largest city is Detroit.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 42.73° N · 84.56° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 42° 43′ 57″ N · 84° 33′ 20″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 16T · 700,111 E · 4,734,012 N
- Zone 16 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 113,884 people
- 39.4 sq mi of land · 2,893 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from October 2018: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Lansing had 113,884 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.1% more than in April 2020, when it had 112,641. Its 39.4 sq mi of land work out to 2,893 people/sq mi; the state average is 179 people/sq mi.
It’s the 6th most populous of the 745 places the Census counts in Michigan (cities, towns and CDPs), after Detroit (649,095), and holds 1.1% of the state’s population.
The city spreads across 3 counties. By population: Ingham County (108,771) and Eaton County (5,113); no one lives in its part of Clinton County. Its reference point, where we measure the elevation, is in Ingham County.
Compared with other state capitals
Lansing sits at 853 ft (260 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Lansing is 245 ft below it.
The highest point in Michigan is Mount Arvon, at 1,979 ft according to the USGS: 1,126 ft above Lansing, 329 mi away in a straight line.
- 17 Lansing 853 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Lansing.
What is the elevation of Lansing?
Lansing is 853 feet (260 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 Lansing?
Latitude 42.73254 and longitude -84.55554, in decimal degrees (42° 43′ 57″ N · 84° 33′ 20″ W). In UTM, zone 16: 700,111 E and 4,734,012 N, on NAD83.
How does Lansing rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 17th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Lansing in?
Several: Ingham County, Eaton County, and Clinton County. Most of its people live in Ingham County.
Which is higher, Lansing or Detroit?
Lansing. Lansing sits at 853 ft and Detroit at 598 ft: a difference of 255 ft, 82 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