miles to km converter

How to convert miles to kilometers

Multiply miles by 1.609344 to get kilometres. The factor is exact for the international mile. Ten miles is 16.09344 km. Sixty miles is 96.56064 km, which is why a 60 mph road is about 100 km/h and not exactly 100. If you need the speed itself, use the mph page. This page converts a distance, so a 26.2 mile marathon entry is 42.1648 km, a hair under the official 42.195 km because 26.2 is already rounded.

US trip planning against a metric odometer, race entries, and any spec that says miles when the rest of the drawing is in kilometres. A 10 mile run is 16.093 km. People who train in kilometres and race in miles should convert the course, not their watch's pace unit, if they only want the distance.

Exact formula

Formulakilometers = miles × 1.609344

kilometers = miles × 1.609344 One mi is 1.609344 km. Ten mi is 16.09344 km. The worked example below uses that same conversion.

Conversion table

The miles column runs from 1 mi (1.609 km) through 1000 mi (1609.34 km).

Worked example: Miles to Kilometers

A race entered as 26.2 miles is 42.165 km. That is a hair under the official marathon, because 26.2 already rounded the defined 42.195 km. Ten miles of road is 16.093 km. Sixty miles is 96.561 km, which is why a 60 mph sign is about 100 km/h and not exactly 100. Multiplying by 1.6 instead of 1.609344 drops almost a kilometre over a 100 mile drive. Square miles are area. This factor converts a distance once.

Pitfalls for miles to kilometers

• 1.6 is short of 1.609344. On a 100 mile drive that is almost a kilometre of error.
• Statute miles and nautical miles are different. Do not use 1.609344 on a chart measured in nautical miles.
• Square miles are area. Multiplying by 1.609344 once does not convert an area.
• 26.2 miles is the rounded marathon. The defined course is 42.195 km.