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Distance & area

Distance between cities

Pick two US cities or towns to see how far apart they are in a straight line and by road, plus how long the drive takes.

Example From Dallas, TX to Houston, TX. Change the points to measure your own.

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Straight line

Result

In a straight line

223mi

Dallas, TX → Houston, TX

Initial bearing
158° (S)
In the other unit
358 km
Dallas, TX
Population 1,329,491 (2025 estimate)
Houston, TX
Population 2,397,315 (2025 estimate)

By road

Tap a way to travel to see the distance and time along the route.

To give you an idea

About the same as New York – Washington, DC

Your trip223 mi

New York – Washington, DC204 mi

What next?

Take these two cities to another tool, without searching again.

Straight line vs driving distanceCompare the as-the-crow-flies distance with the real driving distance and see how much the road adds. Halfway pointFind the exact halfway point between two places and see it on the map, ready to share. Distance between two pointsMeasure the distance between any two places or points on the map, in miles or kilometers.

Save or share this trip

How to use it

  1. Type the first city

    Start typing and pick from the list: it has all 4,241 US cities, towns and Census-designated places with 10,000 people or more. Search is instant and doesn’t wait on any server.

  2. Type the second one

    As soon as both are set, the map shows the straight line and the driving route. Use Swap to flip the trip around.

  3. Compare and share

    Read the straight-line and driving distance, the drive time and the bearing. Switch to cycling or walking, open it in Google Maps or copy the link.

What it’s for

  • Road trips

    See how far it is and how long the drive takes before you decide whether to drive, fly or take the train.

  • Work and mileage

    Work out the miles between customers, offices or warehouses for quotes, mileage claims or sales routes.

  • Moving or college

    Compare how far from home the cities you might move to, or the colleges you’re looking at, really are.

  • Geography class

    Compare distances between big cities and show why the road is always longer than the straight line.

How it’s calculated

Each city is placed at its internal point from the U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer, a point near the middle of the city’s land area. For a handful of cities whose official area includes far-off islands or huge rural areas (San Francisco, Anchorage and Juneau), Mapsfera uses the city center from OpenStreetMap instead. Between the two points, it measures the shortest line on the WGS84 ellipsoid with GeographicLib.

The driving distance comes live from the FOSSGIS OSRM routing service, using OpenStreetMap data: it’s the length of the fastest route by car (or bike, or on foot), not necessarily the shortest one.

As the crow flies

d = length of the geodesic between the two points (WGS84)

The straight-line or “bird’s-eye” distance: what a plane flying the shortest path would cover.

By road

d = sum of the legs of the fastest route

Worked out by OSRM on OpenStreetMap roads, using their speed limits.

Example: New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY 40.66270° N, 73.93870° W
Los Angeles, CA 34.01940° N, 118.41080° W
As the crow flies 2,464 mi (3,966 km)
By road Tap it in the tool: it’s calculated live

Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates (July 1, 2025); for Census-designated places, the American Community Survey 2020–2024.

Distances between major US cities

As the crow flies, between each city’s point. Tap “See on the map” to open the pair in the tool and get the driving distance too.

CitiesMilesKilometersBearing See on the map
New York, NY – Los Angeles, CA2,464 mi3,966 km274° W See on the map
New York, NY – Chicago, IL720 mi1,158 km281° W See on the map
New York, NY – Boston, MA191 mi307 km52° NE See on the map
New York, NY – Washington, DC204 mi328 km234° SW See on the map
New York, NY – Philadelphia, PA77.5 mi125 km235° SW See on the map
New York, NY – Miami, FL1,088 mi1,750 km201° S See on the map
Los Angeles, CA – San Francisco, CA343 mi552 km320° NW See on the map
Los Angeles, CA – Las Vegas, NV235 mi378 km49° NE See on the map
Los Angeles, CA – San Diego, CA111 mi178 km137° SE See on the map
Los Angeles, CA – Chicago, IL1,752 mi2,820 km63° NE See on the map
Chicago, IL – Houston, TX936 mi1,506 km210° SW See on the map
Chicago, IL – Detroit, MI238 mi384 km79° E See on the map
Dallas, TX – Houston, TX223 mi358 km158° S See on the map
Dallas, TX – Austin, TX181 mi292 km199° S See on the map
Seattle, WA – Portland, OR145 mi233 km186° S See on the map
San Francisco, CA – Seattle, WA679 mi1,092 km0° N See on the map
Miami, FL – Orlando, FL198 mi319 km340° N See on the map
Atlanta, GA – Nashville, TN213 mi343 km322° NW See on the map
Denver, CO – Salt Lake City, UT379 mi610 km283° W See on the map
Phoenix, AZ – Las Vegas, NV257 mi414 km316° NW See on the map

Calculated on the WGS84 ellipsoid from Census Gazetteer points. Driving distances aren’t in the table because they change with roadwork and new roads: the tool calculates them on the spot.

Frequently asked questions

How many miles is it from New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA?

2,464 mi (3,966 km) as the crow flies, between the points Mapsfera uses for each city. By road it’s farther: pick both cities above and the tool gives you the miles and the drive time.

Which cities are included?

All 4,241 incorporated cities, towns and Census-designated places with 10,000 people or more, from the Census 2025 estimates. For smaller places, use the distance calculator or the distance between ZIP codes.

Where in each city is the distance measured from?

From the Census internal point, near the middle of the city’s land area. In large cities that can be a few miles from downtown, so the distance can differ a little from one measured between two city halls.

Why is the driving distance longer?

Because roads go around mountains, lakes and rivers, and follow the terrain and the street grid. How much longer depends on what lies between the two cities: an interstate across flat land adds little, while mountains or water in the way add a lot. The straight line vs driving distance tool explains it.

Is the driving route the shortest one?

It’s the fastest one according to OpenStreetMap speed limits, which usually means taking the interstate even if it adds a few miles. That’s why it may not match other navigation apps exactly.

Does it work offline?

The city search does: the list comes with the page and doesn’t ask any server. The map and the driving distance need a connection.

Related tools

All tools
Distance between two points Measure the distance between any two places or points on the map, in miles or kilometers. Distance between ZIP codes Enter two US ZIP codes to get the distance between them and see both areas on the map. Straight line vs driving distance Compare the as-the-crow-flies distance with the real driving distance and see how much the road adds. Area calculator Draw around a field, a plot or any shape on the map to get its area in acres, hectares or square feet.

Sources