Distance Between Cities in the USAEvery Major City Pair, in KM and Miles

United States is home to 43 major cities in our database, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and more. The largest city by population is New York with approximately 8,336,817 residents, located in the Northeast region.

Within United States, there are 137 domestic routes connecting cities across the country. The shortest domestic route is Fort Lauderdale to Miami at 40 km, while the longest is Boston to Los Angeles at 4,170 km.

United States also connects to 86 international destinations worldwide. Whether you're planning domestic travel or international flights, this comprehensive distance guide provides all the information you need. All distances are calculated using the Haversine formula for maximum accuracy.

For travelers within United States, shorter routes under 500 km are often well-suited for driving or train travel. Routes between 500-2,000 km offer a choice between driving and flying, while anything over 2,000 km is typically best served by air travel. Read our guide on estimating travel time for more detailed planning advice.

United States's aviation and ground network shapes how the 223 routes on this page actually feel in practice. The flag carrier American Airlines handles most long-haul departures, while low-cost players such as Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier dominate short-haul leisure traffic. The primary international gateway is Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW) and Chicago (ORD), which also acts as the natural connection point for travelers using one-stop routings to save 20–40% on long-haul fares.

For shorter trips, ground transport in United States is built around Amtrak — best on the Northeast Corridor (Boston–NY–Washington Acela). On corridors under roughly 700 km, door-to-door rail travel is often faster than flying once airport security and transfers are factored in — a calculation worth running before booking domestic flights inside United States.

Of the 223 routes covered here, the breakdown is 51 under 500 km, 75 between 500 and 1,500 km, 65 between 1,500 and 5,000 km, 25 between 5,000 and 10,000 km, 7 over 10,000 km. That mix is why a single travel-time rule never works for United States: a typical traveler will encounter everything from a 60-minute regional hop to a 12-hour ultra-long-haul flight, depending on destination.

The 43 cities in our database for United States are anchored by New York — a metropolitan area of roughly 8.34 million people sitting at 40.71°N, 74.01°W. That position places much of United States in a temperate climate with four distinct seasons, which directly influences both the local travel calendar and how comfortable arrivals from very different latitudes will feel.

Domestic distances within United States range from Fort Lauderdale to Miami at 40 km up to Boston to Los Angeles at 4,170 km. The wider that range, the more critical it becomes to match transport mode to journey length — exactly what the routes table above is designed to help with.

Because of Earth's curvature, the great-circle distances shown on this page are not the same as flight paths drawn on a flat map. Routes between United States and far-away destinations often track closer to the poles than people expect — read more in our guide on how the Haversine formula works.

• Currency: US dollar (USD)
• Visa & entry: ESTA required in advance for visa-waiver passports
• Best season: Varies by region — spring and autumn are universally pleasant
• Driving: traffic drives on the right

Travel costs in United States sit in the mid-range globally, with significant savings available 6–10 weeks ahead of departure.

Mid-week departures (Tuesday and Wednesday in particular) into and out of United States are typically 20–30% cheaper than Friday and Sunday flights on the same routes. Red-eye and very early-morning departures usually save another 10–15%. Budget carriers serving United States apply strict carry-on rules and unbundled fares, so packing light remains the single biggest lever for keeping total trip cost low.

For multi-city trips inside United States, compare the cost of a single open-jaw flight plus ground transport against multiple point-to-point flights — on routes with strong rail service, the rail-and-fly combination usually wins on both price and total door-to-door time.

Under 500 km: ground transport — driving, coaches, or the rail services described above — is usually competitive with flying door-to-door once airport overhead is included. This band covers many of the shortest routes on this page.

500–1,500 km: the choice gets interesting. A direct domestic flight typically saves 2–4 hours over driving in this band, but cheap fares disappear quickly without advance booking.

Over 1,500 km: flying becomes the obvious choice. The 86 international routes from United States above 1,500 km on this page are essentially flight-only journeys; ground alternatives exist only on a handful of specialist sleeper trains or long-distance coaches and aren't time-competitive.

Whichever mode you pick, use the calculator on this site to confirm exact great-circle figures, then add 20–40% for actual driving distance and 30–60 minutes per direction for airport overhead. Browse our travel guides for in-depth advice on flight time, driving distance and trip planning across United States and beyond.