Distances from Miami Beach, FL to nearby and major US cities

Reachable places are rarely spread evenly around a town, and they are not around Miami Beach, FL. Of everything above twenty thousand people within three hours' drive, the largest share — 42 of 92 — lies to the north, with 20 to the northwest. Only 14 sit to the southwest. That asymmetry is usually geography rather than road building: coastline, a state line, mountains or simply empty country in one direction and settlement in another.

92 of those places are in Florida and 0 are across a state line, which matters more than the mileage does. Speed limits, phone rules and what you may do at a red light are all set state by state, so a drive of the same length can be governed by two sets of rules or by one. The state-by-state differences are set out separately.

The major-city list below spans a wide range: Houston, TX is about 1,140 miles out, roughly 18 hr 6 min of driving, while Los Angeles, CA is around 2,749 miles — a different order of trip entirely, and one to plan in stages rather than as a day.

One thing none of these figures account for: the distance is the same in both directions but the drive often is not. A route that climbs on the way out descends on the way back, rush hour is in one direction in the morning and the other in the evening, and a mountain pass can be open one way and closed the other in winter. The estimate here is symmetrical because the road is; the day is not. For a long haul out of Miami Beach, FL, the road safety guides cover the part the mileage leaves out.