Massachusetts

Distance from Boston to Worcester

Straight-line distance

40.6mi

Boston, MA and Worcester, MA are 40.6 miles (65.4 km) apart in a straight line. From Boston, the shortest path starts out heading W (264°).

kilometers
65.4
nautical miles
35.3
heading from Boston
264° W
heading from Worcester
83° E
BostonWorcester

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

How far Boston is from Worcester

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Boston and Worcester is 40.6 miles, 65.4 km or 35.3 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 40.6 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
40.6
Kilometers
65.4
Nautical miles
35.3
Bearing from Boston
263.5° W
Bearing arriving at Worcester
263.0°
Bearing from Worcester
83.0° E

Halfway between Boston and Worcester

The great-circle midpoint is at 42.304727, -71.413267 (42°18'17.02"N 71°24'47.76"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Framingham, MA, with 73,361 residents, 1.2 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/New_York, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Boston gets 15 h 17 min of daylight and Worcester 15 h 17 min; on December 21, 9 h 05 min and 9 h 05 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Boston has 3.2 times the population of Worcester. From July 2020 to July 2024, Boston changed by -0.3% and Worcester by +4.4%. Both are in Massachusetts.

  1. 01Boston, MA673,458 (-0.3%)
  2. 02Worcester, MA211,286 (+4.4%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Boston from Worcester?

40.6 miles, 65.4 km or 35.3 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Worcester from Boston?

W. The great-circle path leaves Boston on a bearing of 263.5° and arrives at Worcester on 263.0°. The return trip starts on 83.0°.

What is halfway between Boston and Worcester?

The midpoint is at 42.304727, -71.413267. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Framingham, MA, 1.2 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Boston and Worcester?

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

Which is bigger, Boston or Worcester?

Boston, with 673,458 residents in July 2024 against 211,286 for Worcester, 3.2 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.