California

Distance from Modesto to Santa Clara

Straight-line distance

56.2mi

Modesto, CA and Santa Clara, CA are 56.2 miles (90.4 km) apart in a straight line. From Modesto, the shortest path starts out heading WSW (251°).

kilometers
90.4
nautical miles
48.8
heading from Modesto
251° WSW
heading from Santa Clara
70° ENE
ModestoSanta Clara

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

How far Modesto is from Santa Clara

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Modesto and Santa Clara is 56.2 miles, 90.4 km or 48.8 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 56.2 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
56.2
Kilometers
90.4
Nautical miles
48.8
Bearing from Modesto
250.7° WSW
Bearing arriving at Santa Clara
250.1°
Bearing from Santa Clara
70.1° ENE

Halfway between Modesto and Santa Clara

The great-circle midpoint is at 37.502031, -121.486382 (37°30'7.31"N 121°29'10.97"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Tracy, CA, with 100,136 residents, 15.7 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/Los_Angeles, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Modesto gets 14 h 46 min of daylight and Santa Clara 14 h 44 min; on December 21, 9 h 34 min and 9 h 35 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Modesto has 1.7 times the population of Santa Clara. From July 2020 to July 2024, Modesto changed by +0.9% and Santa Clara by +3.5%. Both are in California.

  1. 01Modesto, CA220,592 (+0.9%)
  2. 02Santa Clara, CA133,132 (+3.5%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Modesto from Santa Clara?

56.2 miles, 90.4 km or 48.8 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Santa Clara from Modesto?

WSW. The great-circle path leaves Modesto on a bearing of 250.7° and arrives at Santa Clara on 250.1°. The return trip starts on 70.1°.

What is halfway between Modesto and Santa Clara?

The midpoint is at 37.502031, -121.486382. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Tracy, CA, 15.7 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Modesto and Santa Clara?

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

Which is bigger, Modesto or Santa Clara?

Modesto, with 220,592 residents in July 2024 against 133,132 for Santa Clara, 1.7 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.