Washington

Distance from Seattle to Tacoma

Straight-line distance

25.9mi

Seattle, WA and Tacoma, WA are 25.9 miles (41.6 km) apart in a straight line. From Seattle, the shortest path starts out heading SSW (191°).

kilometers
41.6
nautical miles
22.5
heading from Seattle
191° SSW
heading from Tacoma
11° N
SeattleTacoma

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

How far Seattle is from Tacoma

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Seattle and Tacoma is 25.9 miles, 41.6 km or 22.5 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 25.9 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
25.9
Kilometers
41.6
Nautical miles
22.5
Bearing from Seattle
191.3° SSW
Bearing arriving at Tacoma
191.2°
Bearing from Tacoma
11.2° N

Halfway between Seattle and Tacoma

The great-circle midpoint is at 47.435763, -122.405839 (47°26'8.75"N 122°24'21.02"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Normandy Park, WA, with 6,661 residents, 2.9 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, Seattle gets 15 h 59 min of daylight and Tacoma 15 h 56 min; on December 21, 8 h 25 min and 8 h 28 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Seattle has 3.4 times the population of Tacoma. From July 2020 to July 2024, Seattle changed by +5.5% and Tacoma by +3.8%. Both are in Washington.

  1. 01Seattle, WA780,995 (+5.5%)
  2. 02Tacoma, WA228,202 (+3.8%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Seattle from Tacoma?

25.9 miles, 41.6 km or 22.5 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Tacoma from Seattle?

SSW. The great-circle path leaves Seattle on a bearing of 191.3° and arrives at Tacoma on 191.2°. The return trip starts on 11.2°.

What is halfway between Seattle and Tacoma?

The midpoint is at 47.435763, -122.405839. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Normandy Park, WA, 2.9 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Seattle and Tacoma?

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

Which is bigger, Seattle or Tacoma?

Seattle, with 780,995 residents in July 2024 against 228,202 for Tacoma, 3.4 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.