How far is Boston from the ocean?
Boston sits right on the coast: the nearest shoreline is only 0.5 miles (0.8 km) away. The nearest stretch of coast is in Massachusetts, United States.
To the coast
0.5 miles
0.8 km · straight line
Nearest land border
185 miles
with Canada
Setting
On the coast
166th farthest from the ocean of 182 cities
BostonNearest point on the coast
How far are you from the ocean?
Measure from where you are standing. On a phone this uses GPS, so the answer is for your exact spot, not the city centre.
Boston at a glance
- Coordinates
- 42.3584° N, 71.0598° W
- Region
- Massachusetts, United States
- Distance to the coast
- 0.5 miles (0.8 km), in a straight line
- Nearest point on the coast
- 42.3592° N, 71.0507° W (Massachusetts, United States)
- Nearest land border
- 185 miles (297 km), with Canada
- Among United States's cities
- 37th farthest from the ocean of the 40 cities measured
Nearby cities and the coast
| City | Country | To the coast |
|---|---|---|
| New York | United States | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
| Montréal | Canada | 113 miles (182 km) |
| Philadelphia | United States | 8.2 miles (13 km) |
| Ottawa | Canada | 44 miles (71 km) |
| Baltimore | United States | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) |
| Washington, D.C. | United States | 21 miles (34 km) |
Questions
How far is Boston from the ocean?
Boston sits right on the coast: the nearest shoreline is only 0.5 miles (0.8 km) away. The nearest stretch of coast is in Massachusetts, United States.
Is that the driving distance?
No. 0.5 miles (0.8 km) is the straight-line distance from the city centre to the nearest point on the shore. The drive to a beach is longer, often much longer, and depends on the roads.
How far is Boston from the nearest border?
Boston is 185 miles (297 km) from the nearest land border, with Canada, in a straight line.
Where in Boston is this measured from?
From the city's centre point (42.3584° N, 71.0598° W). A large city spreads out, so some neighbourhoods are closer to the ocean than this and some farther. For an exact figure from where you are, use your own location.
Measured by MapGO on October 8, 2026 with the same coastline data as the distance to coastline calculator. All distances are straight lines over the Earth's surface.