Oregon to Washington

Distance from Portland to Seattle

Straight-line distance

144.6mi

Portland, OR and Seattle, WA are 144.6 miles (232.7 km) apart in a straight line. From Portland, the shortest path starts out heading N (6°).

kilometers
232.7
nautical miles
125.6
heading from Portland
6° N
heading from Seattle
186° S
PortlandSeattle

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

How far Portland is from Seattle

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Portland and Seattle is 144.6 miles, 232.7 km or 125.6 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 144.6 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
144.6
Kilometers
232.7
Nautical miles
125.6
Bearing from Portland
5.5° N
Bearing arriving at Seattle
5.7°
Bearing from Seattle
185.7° S

Halfway between Portland and Seattle

The great-circle midpoint is at 46.578247, -122.503616 (46°34'41.69"N 122°30'13.02"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Morton, WA, with 1,089 residents, 10.6 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, Portland gets 15 h 41 min of daylight and Seattle 15 h 59 min; on December 21, 8 h 42 min and 8 h 25 min. Seattle is 2.08° farther north, so it has the longer summer days and the shorter winter ones.

Population compared

Seattle has 1.2 times the population of Portland. From July 2020 to July 2024, Portland changed by -2.7% and Seattle by +5.5%. The trip crosses from Oregon into Washington.

  1. 01Portland, OR635,749 (-2.7%)
  2. 02Seattle, WA780,995 (+5.5%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Portland from Seattle?

144.6 miles, 232.7 km or 125.6 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Seattle from Portland?

N. The great-circle path leaves Portland on a bearing of 5.5° and arrives at Seattle on 5.7°. The return trip starts on 185.7°.

What is halfway between Portland and Seattle?

The midpoint is at 46.578247, -122.503616. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Morton, WA, 10.6 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Portland and Seattle?

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

Which is bigger, Portland or Seattle?

Seattle, with 780,995 residents in July 2024 against 635,749 for Portland, 1.2 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.