North Dakota to Minnesota

Distance from Fargo to Rochester

Straight-line distance

288.5mi

Fargo, ND and Rochester, MN are 288.5 miles (464.3 km) apart in a straight line. From Fargo, the shortest path starts out heading SE (131°).

kilometers
464.3
nautical miles
250.7
heading from Fargo
131° SE
heading from Rochester
315° NW
FargoRochester

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

How far Fargo is from Rochester

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Fargo and Rochester is 288.5 miles, 464.3 km or 250.7 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 288.5 miles, 56 meters longer.

Measurements

Miles
288.5
Kilometers
464.3
Nautical miles
250.7
Bearing from Fargo
131.5° SE
Bearing arriving at Rochester
134.6°
Bearing from Rochester
314.6° NW

Halfway between Fargo and Rochester

The great-circle midpoint is at 45.460135, -94.598868 (45°27'36.49"N 94°35'55.92"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Richmond, MN, with 1,521 residents, 4.2 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, Fargo gets 15 h 53 min of daylight and Rochester 15 h 29 min; on December 21, 8 h 32 min and 8 h 53 min. Fargo is 2.85° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Fargo has 1.1 times the population of Rochester. From July 2020 to July 2024, Fargo changed by +8.2% and Rochester by +1.7%. The trip crosses from North Dakota into Minnesota.

  1. 01Fargo, ND136,285 (+8.2%)
  2. 02Rochester, MN123,624 (+1.7%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Fargo from Rochester?

288.5 miles, 464.3 km or 250.7 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Rochester from Fargo?

SE. The great-circle path leaves Fargo on a bearing of 131.5° and arrives at Rochester on 134.6°. The return trip starts on 314.6°.

What is halfway between Fargo and Rochester?

The midpoint is at 45.460135, -94.598868. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Richmond, MN, 4.2 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Fargo and Rochester?

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

Which is bigger, Fargo or Rochester?

Fargo, with 136,285 residents in July 2024 against 123,624 for Rochester, 1.1 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.