How to Calculate the Distance Between Two Cities in the United States

1. Computer
2. Internet
3. AAA Membership

Follow these steps to calculate the distance between two cities:

Step 1:
Use Info Please's online Distance Calculator (see Resources). Type in the city you are leaving from, followed by the state. Place a comma between the city and the state. Then type in the city you are going to, followed by the state. Click "Calculate" and you will be given the distance in miles. There is also a neat feature that will tell you the latitude and longitude of your destination.

Step 2:
Use Map Crow's Travel Distance Calculator (see Resources). Type in the city you want to leave from in the first box. Type the city you want to end up at in the second box. Click "Get the Distance" and you will get the distance not only in miles, but in kilometers as well. It will also give you the coordinates for each town and show you where it is on a map.

Step 3:
Go to Geobytes City Distance Tool (see Resources). Add your city origin in the first box and then type in your destination city in the second box. Click "Next" and make sure the right cities are displayed. If they are, click "Find Distance" and you will get both the miles and kilometers.

Step 4:
Gather the zip code for the city you want to visit and head to Distance Check (see Resources). Type in your starting city's zip code in the first box and your destination city's zip code in the second box. Click "Calculate Distance" and you will not only get the distance in miles, but you will also get the estimated driving time. This saves you a whole step because now you don't have to calculate your own driving time.

Step 5:
Sign up for a membership with AAA. With your membership you will receive free maps and trip tix. These trip tix will plan out a route for you between the two cities you desire and will tell you how many miles you will be traveling. You can sit down with an agent and get all of your questions answered as well as take home all of the tools you need to get from point A to point B.

Tips and Warnings:
There are plenty of sites that also offer directions, such as Mapquest and Expedia. These sites give you total miles at the end of the directions.