New York to Michigan

Distance from Buffalo to Detroit

Straight-line distance

218.5mi

Buffalo, NY and Detroit, MI are 218.5 miles (351.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Buffalo, the shortest path starts out heading W (262°).

kilometers
351.6
nautical miles
189.8
heading from Buffalo
262° W
heading from Detroit
79° E
BuffaloDetroit

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

How far Buffalo is from Detroit

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Buffalo and Detroit is 218.5 miles, 351.6 km or 189.8 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 218.5 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
218.5
Kilometers
351.6
Nautical miles
189.8
Bearing from Buffalo
262.2° W
Bearing arriving at Detroit
259.3°
Bearing from Detroit
79.3° E

Halfway between Buffalo and Detroit

The great-circle midpoint is at 42.657322, -80.989638 (42°39'26.36"N 80°59'22.70"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is North Kingsville, OH, with 2,723 residents, 53.1 miles from the midpoint. To find towns near the midpoint of any two places, use the halfway tool.

Time zones and daylight

Buffalo uses America/New_York and Detroit uses America/Detroit; Detroit is the same clock time all year. On June 21, Buffalo gets 15 h 21 min of daylight and Detroit 15 h 17 min; on December 21, 9 h 01 min and 9 h 04 min. Buffalo is 0.51° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Detroit has 2.3 times the population of Buffalo. From July 2020 to July 2024, Buffalo changed by -0.3% and Detroit by +1.1%. The trip crosses from New York into Michigan.

  1. 01Buffalo, NY276,617 (-0.3%)
  2. 02Detroit, MI645,705 (+1.1%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Buffalo from Detroit?

218.5 miles, 351.6 km or 189.8 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Detroit from Buffalo?

W. The great-circle path leaves Buffalo on a bearing of 262.2° and arrives at Detroit on 259.3°. The return trip starts on 79.3°.

What is halfway between Buffalo and Detroit?

The midpoint is at 42.657322, -80.989638. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is North Kingsville, OH, 53.1 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Buffalo and Detroit?

Buffalo uses America/New_York and Detroit uses America/Detroit; Detroit is the same clock time all year.

Which is bigger, Buffalo or Detroit?

Detroit, with 645,705 residents in July 2024 against 276,617 for Buffalo, 2.3 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.