Houston to Mexico City distance

Houston to Mexico City by road

The fastest driving route is 917 miles (1,475 km) long and takes about 19 hr 15 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the MEX 180 (178 mi), I-69 (159 mi), and the MEX 132 (134 mi).

Of the 917 mi, 341 mi are in the United States and 576 mi are in Mexico. That’s an average of 48 mph (77 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 9 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 22 hr 15 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 3-day drive. 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, Houston and Mexico City are 750 miles (1,206 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 22% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 122. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 16 US–Canada and US–Mexico driving pairs in this series, it ranks 7th for detour (the average is 22%).

From Houston, Mexico City lies to the south (bearing 199°), and from Mexico City, Houston lies to the north.

Halfway between Houston and Mexico City

Halfway along the straight line, 375 miles (603 km) from each city, is the point 24.6094° N, 97.3230° W. It falls in the water; the closest place is Carboneras (Tamaulipas, Mexico, pop. 2,693), 24.8 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is San Fernando (Tamaulipas, Mexico, pop. 29,171), 54.4 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 458 miles (738 km) from each city, near Cruillas (Tamaulipas, Mexico, pop. 759), 19.6 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is San Fernando (Tamaulipas, Mexico, pop. 29,171), 22.1 mi away. The two midpoints are 62.2 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time difference and flight

In winter, Mexico City is on the same time as Houston; in summer, 1 hour behind Houston. It changes because they don’t switch to summer time together.

A direct flight would take about 2 hr. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 1,206 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

Houston has 2.4 million people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025) and Mexico City 12.3 million people (GeoNames).