South Carolina to North Carolina

Distance from Charleston to Charlotte

Straight-line distance

171.7mi

Charleston, SC and Charlotte, NC are 171.7 miles (276.3 km) apart in a straight line. From Charleston, the shortest path starts out heading NNW (344°).

kilometers
276.3
nautical miles
149.2
heading from Charleston
344° NNW
heading from Charlotte
163° SSE
CharlestonCharlotte

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

How far Charleston is from Charlotte

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Charleston and Charlotte is 171.7 miles, 276.3 km or 149.2 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 171.7 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
171.7
Kilometers
276.3
Nautical miles
149.2
Bearing from Charleston
343.6° NNW
Bearing arriving at Charlotte
343.1°
Bearing from Charlotte
163.1° SSE

Halfway between Charleston and Charlotte

The great-circle midpoint is at 34.019245, -80.395932 (34°01'9.28"N 80°23'45.35"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Sumter, SC, with 42,958 residents, 5.4 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, Charleston gets 14 h 19 min of daylight and Charlotte 14 h 32 min; on December 21, 9 h 59 min and 9 h 47 min. Charlotte is 2.38° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Charlotte has 6.0 times the population of Charleston. From July 2020 to July 2024, Charleston changed by +4.4% and Charlotte by +7.8%. The trip crosses from South Carolina into North Carolina.

  1. 01Charleston, SC157,665 (+4.4%)
  2. 02Charlotte, NC943,476 (+7.8%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Charleston from Charlotte?

171.7 miles, 276.3 km or 149.2 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Charlotte from Charleston?

NNW. The great-circle path leaves Charleston on a bearing of 343.6° and arrives at Charlotte on 343.1°. The return trip starts on 163.1°.

What is halfway between Charleston and Charlotte?

The midpoint is at 34.019245, -80.395932. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Sumter, SC, 5.4 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Charleston and Charlotte?

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

Which is bigger, Charleston or Charlotte?

Charlotte, with 943,476 residents in July 2024 against 157,665 for Charleston, 6.0 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.