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DistancesOnline

US road trip distances: a driving distance calculator for two cities

Put in two places and this driving distance calculator gives you the road distance, the drive time and what the fuel will cost, plus the towns you pass through and how driving compares with flying. US road distances between a little over 16,000 towns and cities, which covers most road trip distances anyone actually needs.

Type a city and pick from the list, or write it as City, ST — for example Boise, ID.

Road trip distances people look up most

Ordered by how much traffic each route actually drew.

All popular routes

Driving in the big cities

What the driving is actually like at the other end — the roads in, the tolls, where to leave the car, and what is worth stopping for. Useful once the calculator has told you the distance between cities and you have to decide what to do on arrival.

All city guides

Driving distance to the big airports

The part of a flight you actually drive: access roads, terminals, parking, and how long to allow — with distances measured from each airport's own coordinates.

All airport guides

Road safety and trip planning

How far is sensible in a day, what changes in winter, and what to check before you leave. Working out road trip distances only tells you half of it; the rest is how you plan the day.

All road safety guides

Using the distance calculator

How is the distance calculated?

Road trip distances here start from the great-circle distance between the two cities, to which a road factor is applied — the amount by which a real road network runs longer than a straight line. The factor is larger for short trips, where street grids force detours, and smaller for long ones that spend most of their miles on interstates. Where the direct line crosses water, the route is sent round by the crossing the highway network actually uses.

Is this driving distance or straight-line distance?

The headline figure is an estimated driving distance. Each route page also shows the straight-line distance alongside it. This is an estimate, not a routed distance. The road figure is the straight-line distance plus an allowance for how much longer roads run — about 16% on trips over 40 miles, and proportionally more on short ones. Where the straight line crosses water, the route is sent round by a real crossing, which adds more again. For anything that has to be exact, use a routing service.

How is the fuel cost estimated?

At $3.15 per gallon and 25.4 mpg — a mid-range figure for the current US light-vehicle fleet. These are fixed assumptions reviewed periodically (last checked 2026-08), not a live price feed, so treat the cost as a ballpark.

Can I compare driving to flying?

Yes. Every result sets driving against flying — distance, time, and CO₂ — and counts the airport and ground time that makes short flights slower than they look.

Which cities are included?

Every incorporated place in the United States above roughly 1,000 residents, which is a little over 16,000 towns and cities. The largest 5,000 are worked out instantly on this page, so the calculator covers the distance between cities of almost any size.

Is Distances Online free to use?

Yes. No charge, no account, no advertising and no tracking — the US road distances and every drive time on the site are free to look up.