How to draw a radius on a map
- Set the center. Search for an address, town or ZIP code, press “Use my location”, or click anywhere on the map.
- Choose the radius. Type a distance or tap a preset, and pick miles, kilometers, meters or feet. The tool starts in miles in the US and UK and in kilometers elsewhere.
- Add more circles if you need them. “+ Add circle” draws a wider ring around the same center; click the map to move it to a second place.
- Share or save it. “Copy link to this map” gives a link that opens the same circles for anyone.
What people use a radius map for
- Delivery and service areas. Restaurants, florists, cleaners and tradespeople show which neighborhoods they cover, often with a second ring for an extra charge.
- House hunting. Draw 5 or 10 miles around your workplace, a school or family to see which towns are close enough.
- Rules that use a distance. Some jobs, leases, school places and travel policies are set by distance, such as a non-compete clause covering 25 miles. Check which places fall inside the line.
- “Near me” settings. Dating, job and shopping apps often search within a set radius. The map shows what that distance really covers around you.
- Planning trips and events. See which towns are within an hour’s reach, or where guests would travel from.
How big is a 5-mile radius?
The area of a circle grows with the square of its radius, so doubling the radius covers four times the ground. A 5-mile radius covers about 78.5 square miles; a 10-mile radius covers about 314. Travel times are rough guides for reaching the edge.
| Radius | In km | Area | Area in km² | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mile | 1.61 km | 3.14 sq mi (2,011 acres) | 8.1 km² | About a 20-minute walk to the edge |
| 3 miles | 4.83 km | 28.3 sq mi | 73 km² | A short bike ride; a typical school or local delivery area |
| 5 miles | 8.05 km | 78.5 sq mi | 203 km² | A 10 to 20-minute drive; a common delivery or "near me" range |
| 10 miles | 16.1 km | 314 sq mi | 814 km² | A city and its inner suburbs |
| 25 miles | 40.2 km | 1,963 sq mi | 5,085 km² | A whole metro area; a common commute limit |
| 50 miles | 80.5 km | 7,854 sq mi | 20,341 km² | About an hour on the highway; a regional service area |
| 100 miles | 161 km | 31,414 sq mi | 81,363 km² | A day-trip range; roughly the size of South Carolina |
In kilometers the numbers work the same way: a 10 km radius covers about 314 km² (31,400 hectares), and a 50 km radius about 7,854 km².
Radius or driving distance?
A radius measures in a straight line, “as the crow flies”. Roads rarely run straight to where you are going: they follow rivers, hills, bridges and street grids, so the distance you actually drive is longer, often by a fifth or more, and much more where a river or a mountain range is in the way. A place just inside a 10-mile circle can easily be a 14-mile drive.
Use the radius map to see which places fall within a distance, and Driving Directions to check the real route to one of them. For the exact straight-line distance between two points, use the Distance Calculator.
How the circles are drawn
Each circle is made of 128 points, each placed exactly the chosen distance from the center on the WGS 84 ellipsoid, the model of the Earth that GPS uses, with Vincenty’s formulae. That keeps the circle correct at any size and anywhere on the globe, including across the date line. The area and circumference are worked out on a sphere of the Earth’s mean radius, within about half a percent of the exact figure.
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