Iowa to North Dakota

Distance from Des Moines to Fargo

Straight-line distance

398.8mi

Des Moines, IA and Fargo, ND are 398.8 miles (641.8 km) apart in a straight line. From Des Moines, the shortest path starts out heading NNW (338°).

kilometers
641.8
nautical miles
346.5
heading from Des Moines
338° NNW
heading from Fargo
155° SSE
Des MoinesFargo

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

How far Des Moines is from Fargo

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Des Moines and Fargo is 398.8 miles, 641.8 km or 346.5 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 398.8 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
398.8
Kilometers
641.8
Nautical miles
346.5
Bearing from Des Moines
337.6° NNW
Bearing arriving at Fargo
335.3°
Bearing from Fargo
155.3° SSE

Halfway between Des Moines and Fargo

The great-circle midpoint is at 44.229927, -95.147252 (44°13'47.74"N 95°08'50.11"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Springfield, MN, with 1,995 residents, 8.2 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, Des Moines gets 15 h 12 min of daylight and Fargo 15 h 53 min; on December 21, 9 h 10 min and 8 h 32 min. Fargo is 5.29° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Des Moines has 1.6 times the population of Fargo. From July 2020 to July 2024, Des Moines changed by -0.3% and Fargo by +8.2%. The trip crosses from Iowa into North Dakota.

  1. 01Des Moines, IA213,096 (-0.3%)
  2. 02Fargo, ND136,285 (+8.2%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Des Moines from Fargo?

398.8 miles, 641.8 km or 346.5 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Fargo from Des Moines?

NNW. The great-circle path leaves Des Moines on a bearing of 337.6° and arrives at Fargo on 335.3°. The return trip starts on 155.3°.

What is halfway between Des Moines and Fargo?

The midpoint is at 44.229927, -95.147252. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Springfield, MN, 8.2 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Des Moines and Fargo?

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

Which is bigger, Des Moines or Fargo?

Des Moines, with 213,096 residents in July 2024 against 136,285 for Fargo, 1.6 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.