South Carolina

Distance from Charleston to Columbia

Straight-line distance

99.6mi

Charleston, SC and Columbia, SC are 99.6 miles (160.2 km) apart in a straight line. From Charleston, the shortest path starts out heading NNW (328°).

kilometers
160.2
nautical miles
86.5
heading from Charleston
328° NNW
heading from Columbia
147° SSE
CharlestonColumbia

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

How far Charleston is from Columbia

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Charleston and Columbia is 99.6 miles, 160.2 km or 86.5 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 99.6 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
99.6
Kilometers
160.2
Nautical miles
86.5
Bearing from Charleston
327.5° NNW
Bearing arriving at Columbia
327.0°
Bearing from Columbia
147.0° SSE

Halfway between Charleston and Columbia

The great-circle midpoint is at 33.435124, -80.436240 (33°26'6.44"N 80°26'10.46"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Holly Hill, SC, with 1,259 residents, 7.8 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 Columbia 14 h 26 min; on December 21, 9 h 59 min and 9 h 53 min. Columbia is 1.21° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Charleston has 1.1 times the population of Columbia. From July 2020 to July 2024, Charleston changed by +4.4% and Columbia by +6.3%. Both are in South Carolina.

  1. 01Charleston, SC157,665 (+4.4%)
  2. 02Columbia, SC144,788 (+6.3%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Charleston from Columbia?

99.6 miles, 160.2 km or 86.5 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Columbia from Charleston?

NNW. The great-circle path leaves Charleston on a bearing of 327.5° and arrives at Columbia on 327.0°. The return trip starts on 147.0°.

What is halfway between Charleston and Columbia?

The midpoint is at 33.435124, -80.436240. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Holly Hill, SC, 7.8 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Charleston and Columbia?

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

Which is bigger, Charleston or Columbia?

Charleston, with 157,665 residents in July 2024 against 144,788 for Columbia, 1.1 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.