Buffalo to Toronto distance

Buffalo to Toronto by road

The fastest driving route is 106 miles (170 km) long and takes about 2 hr 5 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the QEW (86.0 mi) and Highway 401 (7.3 mi).

Of the 106 mi, 3.0 mi are in the United States and 103 mi are in Canada. That’s an average of 50 mph (80 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 1 stop of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 2 hr 25 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, Buffalo and Toronto are 62.4 miles (100 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 69% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 169. That’s a big detour: the fastest route strays quite far from the straight line. Of the 16 US–Canada and US–Mexico driving pairs in this series, it has the biggest detour (the average is 22%).

From Buffalo, Toronto lies to the northwest (bearing 335°), and from Toronto, Buffalo lies to the southeast.

Halfway between Buffalo and Toronto

Halfway along the straight line, 31.2 miles (50.2 km) from each city, is the point 43.2967° N, 79.1367° W. It falls near Mississauga Beach (Ontario, Canada, pop. 4,662), 3.7 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is St. Catharines (Ontario, Canada, pop. 136,803), 10.2 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 52.8 miles (84.9 km) from each city, near Stoney Creek (Ontario, Canada, pop. 76,382), 4.8 mi away. The two midpoints are 27.5 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone

Buffalo and Toronto share the same time all year: both are on Eastern Time.

The two cities

Buffalo has 274,613 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025) and Toronto 2.8 million people (GeoNames).