Illinois

Distance from Chicago to Elgin

Straight-line distance

35.8mi

Chicago, IL and Elgin, IL are 35.8 miles (57.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Chicago, the shortest path starts out heading WNW (293°).

kilometers
57.6
nautical miles
31.1
heading from Chicago
293° WNW
heading from Elgin
113° ESE
ChicagoElgin

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

How far Chicago is from Elgin

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Chicago and Elgin is 35.8 miles, 57.6 km or 31.1 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 35.8 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
35.8
Kilometers
57.6
Nautical miles
31.1
Bearing from Chicago
293.2° WNW
Bearing arriving at Elgin
292.8°
Bearing from Elgin
112.8° ESE

Halfway between Chicago and Elgin

The great-circle midpoint is at 41.938445, -88.004793 (41°56'18.40"N 88°00'17.25"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Addison, IL, with 35,728 residents, 0.6 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/Chicago, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Chicago gets 15 h 13 min of daylight and Elgin 15 h 15 min; on December 21, 9 h 08 min and 9 h 07 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Chicago has 23.7 times the population of Elgin. From July 2020 to July 2024, Chicago changed by -0.9% and Elgin by +0.0%. Both are in Illinois.

  1. 01Chicago, IL2,721,308 (-0.9%)
  2. 02Elgin, IL114,701 (+0.0%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Chicago from Elgin?

35.8 miles, 57.6 km or 31.1 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Elgin from Chicago?

WNW. The great-circle path leaves Chicago on a bearing of 293.2° and arrives at Elgin on 292.8°. The return trip starts on 112.8°.

What is halfway between Chicago and Elgin?

The midpoint is at 41.938445, -88.004793. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Addison, IL, 0.6 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Chicago and Elgin?

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

Which is bigger, Chicago or Elgin?

Chicago, with 2,721,308 residents in July 2024 against 114,701 for Elgin, 23.7 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.