South Carolina to North Carolina

Distance from Charleston to Wilmington

Straight-line distance

153.5mi

Charleston, SC and Wilmington, NC are 153.5 miles (247.0 km) apart in a straight line. From Charleston, the shortest path starts out heading NE (51°).

kilometers
247.0
nautical miles
133.4
heading from Charleston
51° NE
heading from Wilmington
232° SW
CharlestonWilmington

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

How far Charleston is from Wilmington

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Charleston and Wilmington is 153.5 miles, 247.0 km or 133.4 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 153.5 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
153.5
Kilometers
247.0
Nautical miles
133.4
Bearing from Charleston
51.0° NE
Bearing arriving at Wilmington
52.1°
Bearing from Wilmington
232.1° SW

Halfway between Charleston and Wilmington

The great-circle midpoint is at 33.522975, -78.937683 (33°31'22.71"N 78°56'15.66"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Surfside Beach, SC, with 4,368 residents, 6.4 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 Wilmington 14 h 26 min; on December 21, 9 h 59 min and 9 h 52 min. Wilmington is 1.38° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Charleston has 1.3 times the population of Wilmington. From July 2020 to July 2024, Charleston changed by +4.4% and Wilmington by +8.1%. The trip crosses from South Carolina into North Carolina.

  1. 01Charleston, SC157,665 (+4.4%)
  2. 02Wilmington, NC125,284 (+8.1%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Charleston from Wilmington?

153.5 miles, 247.0 km or 133.4 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Wilmington from Charleston?

NE. The great-circle path leaves Charleston on a bearing of 51.0° and arrives at Wilmington on 52.1°. The return trip starts on 232.1°.

What is halfway between Charleston and Wilmington?

The midpoint is at 33.522975, -78.937683. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Surfside Beach, SC, 6.4 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Charleston and Wilmington?

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

Which is bigger, Charleston or Wilmington?

Charleston, with 157,665 residents in July 2024 against 125,284 for Wilmington, 1.3 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.