Iowa to Nebraska

Distance from Des Moines to Omaha

Straight-line distance

128.4mi

Des Moines, IA and Omaha, NE are 128.4 miles (206.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Des Moines, the shortest path starts out heading W (261°).

kilometers
206.6
nautical miles
111.6
heading from Des Moines
261° W
heading from Omaha
80° E
Des MoinesOmaha

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

How far Des Moines is from Omaha

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Des Moines and Omaha is 128.4 miles, 206.6 km or 111.6 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 128.4 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
128.4
Kilometers
206.6
Nautical miles
111.6
Bearing from Des Moines
261.2° W
Bearing arriving at Omaha
259.6°
Bearing from Omaha
79.6° E

Halfway between Des Moines and Omaha

The great-circle midpoint is at 41.424112, -94.834765 (41°25'26.80"N 94°50'5.15"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Atlantic, IA, with 6,717 residents, 9.9 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 Omaha 15 h 09 min; on December 21, 9 h 10 min and 9 h 12 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Omaha has 2.3 times the population of Des Moines. From July 2020 to July 2024, Des Moines changed by -0.3% and Omaha by -0.7%. The trip crosses from Iowa into Nebraska.

  1. 01Des Moines, IA213,096 (-0.3%)
  2. 02Omaha, NE489,265 (-0.7%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Des Moines from Omaha?

128.4 miles, 206.6 km or 111.6 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Omaha from Des Moines?

W. The great-circle path leaves Des Moines on a bearing of 261.2° and arrives at Omaha on 259.6°. The return trip starts on 79.6°.

What is halfway between Des Moines and Omaha?

The midpoint is at 41.424112, -94.834765. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Atlantic, IA, 9.9 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Des Moines and Omaha?

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

Which is bigger, Des Moines or Omaha?

Omaha, with 489,265 residents in July 2024 against 213,096 for Des Moines, 2.3 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.