Massachusetts

Distance from Cambridge to Worcester

Straight-line distance

36.0mi

Cambridge, MA and Worcester, MA are 36.0 miles (57.9 km) apart in a straight line. From Cambridge, the shortest path starts out heading WSW (258°).

kilometers
57.9
nautical miles
31.3
heading from Cambridge
258° WSW
heading from Worcester
78° ENE
CambridgeWorcester

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

How far Cambridge is from Worcester

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Cambridge and Worcester is 36.0 miles, 57.9 km or 31.3 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 36.0 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
36.0
Kilometers
57.9
Nautical miles
31.3
Bearing from Cambridge
258.4° WSW
Bearing arriving at Worcester
258.0°
Bearing from Worcester
78.0° ENE

Halfway between Cambridge and Worcester

The great-circle midpoint is at 42.323266, -71.463542 (42°19'23.76"N 71°27'48.75"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Framingham, MA, with 73,361 residents, 1.7 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, Cambridge gets 15 h 17 min of daylight and Worcester 15 h 17 min; on December 21, 9 h 04 min and 9 h 05 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Worcester has 1.7 times the population of Cambridge. From July 2020 to July 2024, Cambridge changed by +2.5% and Worcester by +4.4%. Both are in Massachusetts.

  1. 01Cambridge, MA121,186 (+2.5%)
  2. 02Worcester, MA211,286 (+4.4%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Cambridge from Worcester?

36.0 miles, 57.9 km or 31.3 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Worcester from Cambridge?

WSW. The great-circle path leaves Cambridge on a bearing of 258.4° and arrives at Worcester on 258.0°. The return trip starts on 78.0°.

What is halfway between Cambridge and Worcester?

The midpoint is at 42.323266, -71.463542. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Framingham, MA, 1.7 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Cambridge and Worcester?

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

Which is bigger, Cambridge or Worcester?

Worcester, with 211,286 residents in July 2024 against 121,186 for Cambridge, 1.7 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.