Wisconsin to Minnesota

Distance from Madison to Rochester

Straight-line distance

165.5mi

Madison, WI and Rochester, MN are 165.5 miles (266.4 km) apart in a straight line. From Madison, the shortest path starts out heading WNW (294°).

kilometers
266.4
nautical miles
143.8
heading from Madison
294° WNW
heading from Rochester
112° ESE
MadisonRochester

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

How far Madison is from Rochester

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Madison and Rochester is 165.5 miles, 266.4 km or 143.8 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 165.5 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
165.5
Kilometers
266.4
Nautical miles
143.8
Bearing from Madison
293.8° WNW
Bearing arriving at Rochester
291.7°
Bearing from Rochester
111.7° ESE

Halfway between Madison and Rochester

The great-circle midpoint is at 43.561177, -90.942530 (43°33'40.24"N 90°56'33.11"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Viroqua, WI, with 4,407 residents, 2.8 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 Rochester 15 h 29 min; on December 21, 9 h 00 min and 8 h 53 min. Rochester is 0.93° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Madison has 2.3 times the population of Rochester. From July 2020 to July 2024, Madison changed by +3.8% and Rochester by +1.7%. The trip crosses from Wisconsin into Minnesota.

  1. 01Madison, WI285,300 (+3.8%)
  2. 02Rochester, MN123,624 (+1.7%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Madison from Rochester?

165.5 miles, 266.4 km or 143.8 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Rochester from Madison?

WNW. The great-circle path leaves Madison on a bearing of 293.8° and arrives at Rochester on 291.7°. The return trip starts on 111.7°.

What is halfway between Madison and Rochester?

The midpoint is at 43.561177, -90.942530. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Viroqua, WI, 2.8 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Madison and Rochester?

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

Which is bigger, Madison or Rochester?

Madison, with 285,300 residents in July 2024 against 123,624 for Rochester, 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.