Distances from Rochester, NY to nearby and major US cities

Drive times and estimated fuel costs from Rochester, NY to the towns around it and to the major cities most people head for. Pick any row for the full route.

Rochester, NY sits in New York, on New York time, at 43.15° north and 77.62° west. The nearest place of any size is Lockport, NY, about 63 miles away — roughly 1 hr 15 min of driving.

Counting only places above twenty thousand people, 20 are within three hours' driving of Rochester, NY and 532 within six — which is a better measure of how connected a town is than its position on a map. The nearest city of real size is Buffalo, NY, about 77 miles out.

The two lists below answer different questions. The first is what is physically close, which is what you want for an errand or a day out. The second is the major cities people actually drive to from here, which is usually a longer trip and a different kind of plan. Every figure is an estimated road distance rather than a routed one, and every drive time assumes free-flowing traffic with no allowance for a stop — how the estimate works. For a pair that is not listed here, the calculator will work out any two US cities.

Which way the driving goes from Rochester, NY

Reachable places are rarely spread evenly around a town, and they are not around Rochester, NY. Of everything above twenty thousand people within three hours' drive, the largest share — 8 of 20 — lies to the west, with 4 to the east. Only 1 sit to the northeast. 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.

17 of those places are in New York and 3 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: Cleveland, OH is about 276 miles out, roughly 4 hr 36 min of driving, while Los Angeles, CA is around 2,654 miles — a different order of trip entirely, and one to plan in stages rather than as a day. 3 of the 10 routes below have a page of their own, with the towns along the way and how flying compares.

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 Rochester, NY, the road safety guides cover the part the mileage leaves out.

Where Rochester sits in the contiguous United States.

Closest cities to Rochester, NY

Major cities from Rochester, NY

Questions about Rochester, NY

Where is Rochester, NY?

Rochester, NY sits at 43.155° N, 77.616° W, in the New York time zone. The map above shows where that falls in the contiguous United States.

What is the nearest city to Rochester, NY?

Lockport, NY is the closest place of any size — about 63 miles away, or 1 hr 15 min of driving.

How are these distances worked out?

Each one is an estimated road distance. The figure starts from the straight-line distance between the two places and applies a road factor — how much longer roads run than a straight line. Where the direct line crosses water, the route is sent round by the crossing or the shore road that traffic actually uses. This is an estimate, not a routed distance. The road figure is the straight-line distance plus an allowance for how much longer roads run — about 16% on trips over 40 miles, and proportionally more on short ones. Where the straight line crosses water, the route is sent round by a real crossing, which adds more again. For anything that has to be exact, use a routing service.

Can I check a route that is not listed?

Yes — use the two fields on the home page to put in any two US cities.