Atlanta to New Orleans distance

Atlanta to New Orleans by road

The fastest driving route is 469 miles (754 km) long and takes about 8 hr 35 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-65 (170 mi), I-85 (157 mi), and I-10 (136 mi).

It goes through 4 states: Georgia (81.1 mi), Alabama (271 mi), Mississippi (77.1 mi), and Louisiana (39.3 mi). That’s an average of 55 mph (88 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 4 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 9 hr 55 min. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Atlanta and New Orleans are 424 miles (683 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 10% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 110. The route runs almost straight. Of the 110 US driving pairs in this series, it ranks 76th for detour (the average is 16%).

From Atlanta, New Orleans lies to the southwest (bearing 234°), and from New Orleans, Atlanta lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches New Orleans on a bearing of 231°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Atlanta and New Orleans

Halfway along the straight line, 212 miles (341 km) from each city, is the point 31.8839° N, 87.2898° W. It falls near Vredenburgh (Alabama, pop. 212), 4.5 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 234 miles (377 km) from each city, near Castleberry (Alabama, pop. 447), 12.9 mi away. The two midpoints are 34.5 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time difference and flight

New Orleans is 1 hour behind Atlanta all year (Central Time versus Eastern Time): when it’s 12:00 in Atlanta, it’s 11:00 in New Orleans.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 20 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 683 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Atlanta sits at 1,050 ft (320 m) and New Orleans at 0 ft (0 m), 1,050 ft (320 m) lower.

Atlanta has 529,110 people and New Orleans 362,154 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).