Colorado

Distance from Aurora to Thornton

Straight-line distance

18.7mi

Aurora, CO and Thornton, CO are 18.7 miles (30.1 km) apart in a straight line. From Aurora, the shortest path starts out heading NW (321°).

kilometers
30.1
nautical miles
16.3
heading from Aurora
321° NW
heading from Thornton
141° SE
AuroraThornton

Orange line: great-circle path · ring: midpoint · thin lines: county borders

How far Aurora is from Thornton

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Aurora and Thornton is 18.7 miles, 30.1 km or 16.3 nautical miles. That is the shortest path over the Earth's surface, computed with the haversine formula on a sphere with the mean Earth radius, 6,371.0 km. A course held on one compass bearing (a rhumb line) would be 18.7 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
18.7
Kilometers
30.1
Nautical miles
16.3
Bearing from Aurora
321.3° NW
Bearing arriving at Thornton
321.1°
Bearing from Thornton
141.1° SE

Halfway between Aurora and Thornton

The great-circle midpoint is at 39.815002, -104.830781 (39°48'54.01"N 104°49'50.81"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Denver, CO, with 729,019 residents, 4.5 miles from the midpoint. To find towns near the midpoint of any two places, use the halfway tool.

Time zones and daylight

Both use America/Denver, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Aurora gets 14 h 59 min of daylight and Thornton 15 h 00 min; on December 21, 9 h 21 min and 9 h 20 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Aurora has 2.7 times the population of Thornton. From July 2020 to July 2024, Aurora changed by +4.2% and Thornton by +3.2%. Both are in Colorado.

  1. 01Aurora, CO403,130 (+4.2%)
  2. 02Thornton, CO146,689 (+3.2%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Aurora from Thornton?

18.7 miles, 30.1 km or 16.3 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Thornton from Aurora?

NW. The great-circle path leaves Aurora on a bearing of 321.3° and arrives at Thornton on 321.1°. The return trip starts on 141.1°.

What is halfway between Aurora and Thornton?

The midpoint is at 39.815002, -104.830781. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Denver, CO, 4.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Aurora and Thornton?

Both use America/Denver, so there is no time difference.

Which is bigger, Aurora or Thornton?

Aurora, with 403,130 residents in July 2024 against 146,689 for Thornton, 2.7 times as many.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and Vintage 2024 estimates; time zones from Open-Meteo.

  1. 01Census 2024 Gazetteer, places
  2. 02Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  3. 03SunCalc library (Vladimir Agafonkin), algorithms after Jean Meeus
  4. 04IANA time zone database (clock times and daylight saving rules)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.