how far is california

California doesn’t have a single fixed distance; how far it is depends entirely on where you are starting from.

Since you didn’t specify your location, here are a few concrete examples to give you a feel for “how far California is” by road.

These are approximate driving distances between major U.S. cities and the California border or a major California city.

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From	To (California)	Approx. distance
New York City	Los Angeles	≈ 2,445 miles by road
Chicago	Los Angeles	≈ 2,000 miles (typical driving routes)
San Antonio	San Diego	≈ 1,126 miles
Portland, OR	California border	≈ 300–400 miles depending on route
Inside California	North–South length of state	≈ 770 miles from Oregon border to Mexico border

To know “how far California is” for you personally, you’d need to plug your city or address into:

An online distance calculator, choosing your city as the start and a California city (like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or the California state line) as the end.

Any maps/GPS app (Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.), which will show both miles/kilometers and estimated driving time.

If you tell me your nearest city or country, I can give you a much more precise distance and rough travel time.