San Francisco to San Diego distance

San Francisco to San Diego by road

The fastest driving route is 501 miles (806 km) long and takes about 9 hr 25 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-5 (413 mi) and I-580 (62.3 mi).

The whole route stays in California. That’s an average of 53 mph (85 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 4 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 10 hr 45 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, San Francisco and San Diego are 458 miles (738 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 9% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 109. The route runs almost straight. Of the 110 US driving pairs in this series, it ranks 88th for detour (the average is 16%).

From San Francisco, San Diego lies to the southeast (bearing 138°), and from San Diego, San Francisco lies to the northwest. The straight line reaches San Diego on a bearing of 141°: 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 San Francisco and San Diego

Halfway along the straight line, 229 miles (369 km) from each city, is the point 35.2743° N, 119.7065° W. It falls near McKittrick (California, pop. 67), 4.9 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is East Niles (California, pop. 28,532), 44.7 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 250 miles (403 km) from each city, near Stebbins (California, pop. 967), 12.6 mi away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is East Niles (California, pop. 28,532), 34.4 mi away. The two midpoints are 18.1 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

San Francisco and San Diego share the same time all year: both are on Pacific Time.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 25 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 738 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

San Francisco and San Diego sit at almost the same elevation: 55 ft (17 m) and 63 ft (19 m).

San Francisco has 826,079 people and San Diego 1.4 million people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).