Washington

Distance from Federal Way to Tacoma

Straight-line distance

7.0mi

Federal Way, WA and Tacoma, WA are 7.0 miles (11.3 km) apart in a straight line. From Federal Way, the shortest path starts out heading SW (234°).

kilometers
11.3
nautical miles
6.1
heading from Federal Way
234° SW
heading from Tacoma
54° NE
Federal WayTacoma

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

How far Federal Way is from Tacoma

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Federal Way and Tacoma is 7.0 miles, 11.3 km or 6.1 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 7.0 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
7.0
Kilometers
11.3
Nautical miles
6.1
Bearing from Federal Way
234.4° SW
Bearing arriving at Tacoma
234.3°
Bearing from Tacoma
54.3° NE

Halfway between Federal Way and Tacoma

The great-circle midpoint is at 47.281916, -122.398834 (47°16'54.90"N 122°23'55.80"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Federal Way, WA, with 100,252 residents, 3.5 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/Los_Angeles, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Federal Way gets 15 h 57 min of daylight and Tacoma 15 h 56 min; on December 21, 8 h 28 min and 8 h 28 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Tacoma has 2.3 times the population of Federal Way. From July 2020 to July 2024, Federal Way changed by -0.7% and Tacoma by +3.8%. Both are in Washington.

  1. 01Federal Way, WA100,252 (-0.7%)
  2. 02Tacoma, WA228,202 (+3.8%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Federal Way from Tacoma?

7.0 miles, 11.3 km or 6.1 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Tacoma from Federal Way?

SW. The great-circle path leaves Federal Way on a bearing of 234.4° and arrives at Tacoma on 234.3°. The return trip starts on 54.3°.

What is halfway between Federal Way and Tacoma?

The midpoint is at 47.281916, -122.398834. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Federal Way, WA, 3.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Federal Way and Tacoma?

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

Which is bigger, Federal Way or Tacoma?

Tacoma, with 228,202 residents in July 2024 against 100,252 for Federal Way, 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.