Pittsburgh to Cleveland distance

Pittsburgh to Cleveland by road

The fastest driving route is 133 miles (213 km) long and takes about 2 hr 40 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-76 (52.4 mi), I-80 (29.7 mi), and I-480 (19.5 mi).

It goes through 2 states: Pennsylvania (48.3 mi) and Ohio (84.4 mi). That’s an average of 50 mph (81 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 1 stop of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 3 hr. 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, Pittsburgh and Cleveland are 115 miles (185 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 15% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 115. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 110 US driving pairs in this series, it ranks 52nd for detour (the average is 16%).

From Pittsburgh, Cleveland lies to the northwest (bearing 310°), and from Cleveland, Pittsburgh lies to the southeast.

Halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland

Halfway along the straight line, 57.5 miles (92.6 km) from each city, is the point 40.9732° N, 80.8389° W. It falls near Salem Heights (Ohio, pop. 256), 5.4 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 66.3 miles (107 km) from each city, near Hilltop (Ohio, pop. 640), 7.1 mi away. The two midpoints are 6.9 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

Pittsburgh and Cleveland share the same time all year: both are on Eastern Time.

No flight time is given: under 500 km (311 miles) in a straight line, time at the airport outweighs time in the air.

The two cities

Pittsburgh sits at 765 ft (233 m) and Cleveland at 654 ft (199 m), 111 ft (34 m) lower.

Pittsburgh has 307,632 people and Cleveland 363,608 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).