Las Vegas to Salt Lake City distance

Las Vegas to Salt Lake City by road

The fastest driving route is 420 miles (675 km) long and takes about 7 hr 5 min without stops or traffic. Almost all of it is on I-15: 417 mi of 420 mi.

It goes through 3 states: Nevada (81.0 mi), Arizona (29.4 mi), and Utah (309 mi). That’s an average of 59 mph (95 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 3 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 8 hr 5 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, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are 362 miles (582 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 16% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 116. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 110 US driving pairs in this series, it ranks 48th for detour (the average is 16%).

From Las Vegas, Salt Lake City lies to the northeast (bearing 28°), and from Salt Lake City, Las Vegas lies to the southwest. The straight line reaches Salt Lake City on a bearing of 30°: 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 Las Vegas and Salt Lake City

Halfway along the straight line, 181 miles (291 km) from each city, is the point 38.4796° N, 113.5656° W. It falls near Minersville (Utah, pop. 866), 35.6 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 210 miles (338 km) from each city, near Paragonah (Utah, pop. 578), 18.1 mi away. The two midpoints are 56.3 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time difference and flight

Salt Lake City is 1 hour ahead of Las Vegas all year (Mountain Time versus Pacific Time): when it’s 12:00 in Las Vegas, it’s 13:00 in Salt Lake City.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 15 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 582 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

Las Vegas sits at 1,996 ft (608 m) and Salt Lake City at 4,264 ft (1,300 m), 2,268 ft (691 m) higher.

Las Vegas has 679,817 people and Salt Lake City 218,428 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).