Illinois to Wisconsin

Distance from Chicago to Madison

Straight-line distance

124.0mi

Chicago, IL and Madison, WI are 124.0 miles (199.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Chicago, the shortest path starts out heading NW (315°).

kilometers
199.6
nautical miles
107.8
heading from Chicago
315° NW
heading from Madison
134° SE
ChicagoMadison

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

How far Chicago is from Madison

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Chicago and Madison is 124.0 miles, 199.6 km or 107.8 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 124.0 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
124.0
Kilometers
199.6
Nautical miles
107.8
Bearing from Chicago
314.8° NW
Bearing arriving at Madison
313.6°
Bearing from Madison
133.6° SE

Halfway between Chicago and Madison

The great-circle midpoint is at 42.465708, -88.548684 (42°27'56.55"N 88°32'55.26"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Harvard, IL, with 9,408 residents, 4.5 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 Madison 15 h 22 min; on December 21, 9 h 08 min and 9 h 00 min. Madison is 1.25° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Chicago has 9.5 times the population of Madison. From July 2020 to July 2024, Chicago changed by -0.9% and Madison by +3.8%. The trip crosses from Illinois into Wisconsin.

  1. 01Chicago, IL2,721,308 (-0.9%)
  2. 02Madison, WI285,300 (+3.8%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Chicago from Madison?

124.0 miles, 199.6 km or 107.8 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Madison from Chicago?

NW. The great-circle path leaves Chicago on a bearing of 314.8° and arrives at Madison on 313.6°. The return trip starts on 133.6°.

What is halfway between Chicago and Madison?

The midpoint is at 42.465708, -88.548684. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Harvard, IL, 4.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Chicago and Madison?

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

Which is bigger, Chicago or Madison?

Chicago, with 2,721,308 residents in July 2024 against 285,300 for Madison, 9.5 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.