Colorado

Distance from Fort Collins to Thornton

Straight-line distance

43.9mi

Fort Collins, CO and Thornton, CO are 43.9 miles (70.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Fort Collins, the shortest path starts out heading S (171°).

kilometers
70.6
nautical miles
38.1
heading from Fort Collins
171° S
heading from Thornton
352° N
Fort CollinsThornton

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

How far Fort Collins is from Thornton

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Fort Collins and Thornton is 43.9 miles, 70.6 km or 38.1 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 43.9 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
43.9
Kilometers
70.6
Nautical miles
38.1
Bearing from Fort Collins
171.4° S
Bearing arriving at Thornton
171.5°
Bearing from Thornton
351.5° N

Halfway between Fort Collins and Thornton

The great-circle midpoint is at 40.234316, -105.002814 (40°14'3.54"N 105°00'10.13"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Mead, CO, with 6,735 residents, 0.9 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/Denver, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Fort Collins gets 15 h 05 min of daylight and Thornton 15 h 00 min; on December 21, 9 h 16 min and 9 h 20 min. Fort Collins is 0.63° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Fort Collins has 1.2 times the population of Thornton. From July 2020 to July 2024, Fort Collins changed by +0.5% and Thornton by +3.2%. Both are in Colorado.

  1. 01Fort Collins, CO170,924 (+0.5%)
  2. 02Thornton, CO146,689 (+3.2%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Fort Collins from Thornton?

43.9 miles, 70.6 km or 38.1 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Thornton from Fort Collins?

S. The great-circle path leaves Fort Collins on a bearing of 171.4° and arrives at Thornton on 171.5°. The return trip starts on 351.5°.

What is halfway between Fort Collins and Thornton?

The midpoint is at 40.234316, -105.002814. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Mead, CO, 0.9 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Fort Collins and Thornton?

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

Which is bigger, Fort Collins or Thornton?

Fort Collins, with 170,924 residents in July 2024 against 146,689 for Thornton, 1.2 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.