Colorado

Distance from Boulder to Denver

Straight-line distance

26.7mi

Boulder, CO and Denver, CO are 26.7 miles (43.0 km) apart in a straight line. From Boulder, the shortest path starts out heading SE (133°).

kilometers
43.0
nautical miles
23.2
heading from Boulder
133° SE
heading from Denver
313° NW
BoulderDenver

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

How far Boulder is from Denver

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Boulder and Denver is 26.7 miles, 43.0 km or 23.2 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 26.7 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
26.7
Kilometers
43.0
Nautical miles
23.2
Bearing from Boulder
132.6° SE
Bearing arriving at Denver
132.9°
Bearing from Denver
312.9° NW

Halfway between Boulder and Denver

The great-circle midpoint is at 39.893297, -105.065846 (39°53'35.87"N 105°03'57.04"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Westminster, CO, with 115,302 residents, 0.9 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, Boulder gets 15 h 01 min of daylight and Denver 14 h 59 min; on December 21, 9 h 20 min and 9 h 21 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Denver has 6.8 times the population of Boulder. From July 2020 to July 2024, Boulder changed by -1.5% and Denver by +1.6%. Both are in Colorado.

  1. 01Boulder, CO106,803 (-1.5%)
  2. 02Denver, CO729,019 (+1.6%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Boulder from Denver?

26.7 miles, 43.0 km or 23.2 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Denver from Boulder?

SE. The great-circle path leaves Boulder on a bearing of 132.6° and arrives at Denver on 132.9°. The return trip starts on 312.9°.

What is halfway between Boulder and Denver?

The midpoint is at 39.893297, -105.065846. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Westminster, CO, 0.9 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Boulder and Denver?

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

Which is bigger, Boulder or Denver?

Denver, with 729,019 residents in July 2024 against 106,803 for Boulder, 6.8 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.