How far is San Francisco from the ocean?
San Francisco is on the coast: the nearest shoreline is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in California, United States.
To the coast
1.2 miles
1.9 km · straight line
Nearest land border
468 miles
with Mexico
Setting
On the coast
149th farthest from the ocean of 182 cities
San FranciscoNearest 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.
San Francisco at a glance
- Coordinates
- 37.7749° N, 122.4194° W
- Region
- California, United States
- Distance to the coast
- 1.2 miles (1.9 km), in a straight line
- Nearest point on the coast
- 37.7705° N, 122.3987° W (California, United States)
- Nearest land border
- 468 miles (753 km), with Mexico
- Among United States's cities
- 33rd farthest from the ocean of the 40 cities measured
Nearby cities and the coast
| City | Country | To the coast |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose | United States | 7.3 miles (12 km) |
| Sacramento | United States | 34 miles (55 km) |
| Fresno | United States | 109 miles (176 km) |
| Los Angeles | United States | 14 miles (22 km) |
| Las Vegas | United States | 236 miles (379 km) |
| San Diego | United States | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) |
Questions
How far is San Francisco from the ocean?
San Francisco is on the coast: the nearest shoreline is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in California, United States.
Is that the driving distance?
No. 1.2 miles (1.9 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 San Francisco from the nearest border?
San Francisco is 468 miles (753 km) from the nearest land border, with Mexico, in a straight line.
Where in San Francisco is this measured from?
From the city's centre point (37.7749° N, 122.4194° 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.