California

Distance from Fresno to Modesto

Straight-line distance

89.0mi

Fresno, CA and Modesto, CA are 89.0 miles (143.2 km) apart in a straight line. From Fresno, the shortest path starts out heading NW (312°).

kilometers
143.2
nautical miles
77.3
heading from Fresno
312° NW
heading from Modesto
131° SE
FresnoModesto

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

How far Fresno is from Modesto

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Fresno and Modesto is 89.0 miles, 143.2 km or 77.3 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 89.0 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
89.0
Kilometers
143.2
Nautical miles
77.3
Bearing from Fresno
311.9° NW
Bearing arriving at Modesto
311.2°
Bearing from Modesto
131.2° SE

Halfway between Fresno and Modesto

The great-circle midpoint is at 37.211637, -120.394774 (37°12'41.89"N 120°23'41.19"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Merced, CA, with 96,073 residents, 8.0 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, Fresno gets 14 h 41 min of daylight and Modesto 14 h 46 min; on December 21, 9 h 38 min and 9 h 34 min. Modesto is 0.85° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Fresno has 2.5 times the population of Modesto. From July 2020 to July 2024, Fresno changed by +1.4% and Modesto by +0.9%. Both are in California.

  1. 01Fresno, CA550,105 (+1.4%)
  2. 02Modesto, CA220,592 (+0.9%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Fresno from Modesto?

89.0 miles, 143.2 km or 77.3 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Modesto from Fresno?

NW. The great-circle path leaves Fresno on a bearing of 311.9° and arrives at Modesto on 311.2°. The return trip starts on 131.2°.

What is halfway between Fresno and Modesto?

The midpoint is at 37.211637, -120.394774. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Merced, CA, 8.0 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Fresno and Modesto?

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

Which is bigger, Fresno or Modesto?

Fresno, with 550,105 residents in July 2024 against 220,592 for Modesto, 2.5 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.