New Mexico

Distance from Las Cruces to Rio Rancho

Straight-line distance

204.5mi

Las Cruces, NM and Rio Rancho, NM are 204.5 miles (329.1 km) apart in a straight line. From Las Cruces, the shortest path starts out heading N (1°).

kilometers
329.1
nautical miles
177.7
heading from Las Cruces
1° N
heading from Rio Rancho
181° S
Las CrucesRio Rancho

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

How far Las Cruces is from Rio Rancho

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Las Cruces and Rio Rancho is 204.5 miles, 329.1 km or 177.7 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 204.5 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
204.5
Kilometers
329.1
Nautical miles
177.7
Bearing from Las Cruces
1.4° N
Bearing arriving at Rio Rancho
1.5°
Bearing from Rio Rancho
181.5° S

Halfway between Las Cruces and Rio Rancho

The great-circle midpoint is at 33.805758, -106.745085 (33°48'20.73"N 106°44'42.31"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Socorro, NM, with 8,348 residents, 19.5 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/Denver, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Las Cruces gets 14 h 16 min of daylight and Rio Rancho 14 h 32 min; on December 21, 10 h 02 min and 9 h 47 min. Rio Rancho is 2.96° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Las Cruces has 1.0 times the population of Rio Rancho. From July 2020 to July 2024, Las Cruces changed by +4.7% and Rio Rancho by +7.7%. Both are in New Mexico.

  1. 01Las Cruces, NM116,998 (+4.7%)
  2. 02Rio Rancho, NM112,524 (+7.7%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Las Cruces from Rio Rancho?

204.5 miles, 329.1 km or 177.7 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Rio Rancho from Las Cruces?

N. The great-circle path leaves Las Cruces on a bearing of 1.4° and arrives at Rio Rancho on 1.5°. The return trip starts on 181.5°.

What is halfway between Las Cruces and Rio Rancho?

The midpoint is at 33.805758, -106.745085. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Socorro, NM, 19.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Las Cruces and Rio Rancho?

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

Which is bigger, Las Cruces or Rio Rancho?

Las Cruces, with 116,998 residents in July 2024 against 112,524 for Rio Rancho, 1.0 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.