Distance from Chicago to Los Angeles
The great-circle distance between Chicago, United States and Los Angeles, United States is 2,802 km (1,741 mi · 1,513 nmi) — the shortest possible route over the Earth's surface, the path aircraft approximately follow.
The numbers
- Great-circle distance
- 2,802 km · 1,741 mi · 1,513 nmi
- Initial bearing Chicago → Los Angeles
- 262° (W)
- Initial bearing Los Angeles → Chicago
- 63° (ENE)
- Nonstop flight (rough estimate)
- ≈ 3 h 57 min
- Time zones
- Chicago UTC-05:00 · Los Angeles UTC-07:00 (-2 h)
- Sunrise gap today
- 123 min — the sun rises earlier in Chicago
Flight time is a cruise-speed approximation (no routing/wind); driving distance depends on roads and is typically 20–40% longer than great-circle.
The two cities
- Chicago
- 41.8500, -87.6500
- Sunrise / sunset today
- 11:40 UTC / 23:48 UTC
- Los Angeles
- 34.0522, -118.2437
- Sunrise / sunset today
- 13:43 UTC / 01:50 UTC
Open in the distance calculator Find the halfway point
Distances here are straight-line (great-circle). Road routes typically run 1.2–1.4× longer — here's why, with the visual.