California

Distance from San Mateo to Santa Clara

Straight-line distance

23.1mi

San Mateo, CA and Santa Clara, CA are 23.1 miles (37.3 km) apart in a straight line. From San Mateo, the shortest path starts out heading SE (126°).

kilometers
37.3
nautical miles
20.1
heading from San Mateo
126° SE
heading from Santa Clara
306° NW
San MateoSanta Clara

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

How far San Mateo is from Santa Clara

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of San Mateo and Santa Clara is 23.1 miles, 37.3 km or 20.1 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 23.1 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
23.1
Kilometers
37.3
Nautical miles
20.1
Bearing from San Mateo
125.6° SE
Bearing arriving at Santa Clara
125.8°
Bearing from Santa Clara
305.8° NW

Halfway between San Mateo and Santa Clara

The great-circle midpoint is at 37.462574, -122.139076 (37°27'45.27"N 122°08'20.67"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is East Palo Alto, CA, with 29,296 residents, 0.5 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/Los_Angeles, so there is no time difference. On June 21, San Mateo 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

Santa Clara has 1.3 times the population of San Mateo. From July 2020 to July 2024, San Mateo changed by -2.5% and Santa Clara by +3.5%. Both are in California.

  1. 01San Mateo, CA103,006 (-2.5%)
  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 San Mateo from Santa Clara?

23.1 miles, 37.3 km or 20.1 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Santa Clara from San Mateo?

SE. The great-circle path leaves San Mateo on a bearing of 125.6° and arrives at Santa Clara on 125.8°. The return trip starts on 305.8°.

What is halfway between San Mateo and Santa Clara?

The midpoint is at 37.462574, -122.139076. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is East Palo Alto, CA, 0.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between San Mateo and Santa Clara?

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

Which is bigger, San Mateo or Santa Clara?

Santa Clara, with 133,132 residents in July 2024 against 103,006 for San Mateo, 1.3 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.