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Distance & area

Population in a radius

Pick a point in the US and a radius to estimate how many people live inside, from Census Bureau data by ZIP code area, with a range for the figure.

Center of the circle
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Population inside the circle

Population inside the circle

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What counts inside

What counts inside
ZIPPopulationInsideCounted

Each municipality adds its population in proportion to the share of its land inside the circle.

What’s inside this radius?

Open the same circle in another tool, no need to search again.

Radius mapThe circle with its area and the states it touches. ZIP codes in a radiusEvery ZIP code inside, with its population. Cities in a radiusThe cities and towns inside, by distance.

How many people live within 10 miles of Times Square?

About 7.55 million. The figure is between 6.61 million, counting only the 177 ZIP code areas entirely inside the circle, and 8.41 million, counting in full the 37 the circle cuts through. There are 263 square miles of land inside.

How it’s calculated

The Census Bureau publishes the population of every ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA), along with its land area and an interior point. The tool treats each ZCTA as a circle of the same land area around that point, works out how much of it falls inside your circle, and counts that share of its population: if 40% of a ZIP area of 10,000 people is inside, it adds 4,000.

That assumes people are spread evenly within each ZIP area, so the tool also gives a range: the low figure counts only ZIP areas entirely inside, the high one counts in full every ZIP area the circle touches. The real population should be somewhere between the two.

How accurate is it?

The bigger the circle, the smaller the range, because most ZIP areas end up entirely inside or outside. For small circles the range widens: with 2 miles around Times Square, the estimate is 623,000, between 451,000 and 1.05 million. In rural areas, where ZIP areas are large, the estimate is rougher than in cities.

Water inside the circle doesn’t count, and neither does anyone outside the United States. Spain is covered too, with the official municipal register; other countries aren’t yet.

Where the data comes from

Population is the American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimate for each ZCTA; land area and interior points come from the Census Bureau’s 2025 Gazetteer Files. All of it is public domain.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it an estimate and not an exact count?

Because population is published by area (here, ZIP code areas). When the circle cuts through one, nobody knows exactly how many of its residents are inside, so it’s shared out by land area and a range is shown.

How current is the data?

It’s the American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimate, the most recent the Census Bureau publishes for every ZIP code area.

Does it count people across the border or on the water?

No. Only the land of US ZIP code areas inside the circle counts.

Does it work outside the US?

In Spain, yes, with the official municipal population register. Other countries aren’t covered yet.

Can I download the details?

Yes: the CSV lists every ZIP code area with its population, the share inside the circle and the population counted.

Related tools

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Distance between two points Measure the distance between any two places or points on the map, in miles or kilometers. Distance between cities Pick two US cities and get the distance between them, both in a straight line and by road. 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.

Sources