Wisconsin

Distance from Madison to Milwaukee

Straight-line distance

73.9mi

Madison, WI and Milwaukee, WI are 73.9 miles (118.9 km) apart in a straight line. From Madison, the shortest path starts out heading E (91°).

kilometers
118.9
nautical miles
64.2
heading from Madison
91° E
heading from Milwaukee
272° W
MadisonMilwaukee

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

How far Madison is from Milwaukee

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Madison and Milwaukee is 73.9 miles, 118.9 km or 64.2 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 73.9 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
73.9
Kilometers
118.9
Nautical miles
64.2
Bearing from Madison
90.8° E
Bearing arriving at Milwaukee
91.8°
Bearing from Milwaukee
271.8° W

Halfway between Madison and Milwaukee

The great-circle midpoint is at 43.077880, -88.698154 (43°04'40.37"N 88°41'53.35"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Johnson Creek, WI, with 3,398 residents, 3.7 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, Madison gets 15 h 22 min of daylight and Milwaukee 15 h 22 min; on December 21, 9 h 00 min and 9 h 00 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Milwaukee has 2.0 times the population of Madison. From July 2020 to July 2024, Madison changed by +3.8% and Milwaukee by -2.4%. Both are in Wisconsin.

  1. 01Madison, WI285,300 (+3.8%)
  2. 02Milwaukee, WI563,531 (-2.4%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Madison from Milwaukee?

73.9 miles, 118.9 km or 64.2 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Milwaukee from Madison?

E. The great-circle path leaves Madison on a bearing of 90.8° and arrives at Milwaukee on 91.8°. The return trip starts on 271.8°.

What is halfway between Madison and Milwaukee?

The midpoint is at 43.077880, -88.698154. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Johnson Creek, WI, 3.7 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Madison and Milwaukee?

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

Which is bigger, Madison or Milwaukee?

Milwaukee, with 563,531 residents in July 2024 against 285,300 for Madison, 2.0 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.