Skip to ContentReno sits west of Los Angeles. We checked it against Census Bureau coordinates. Story first, then the record.
Checked November 3, 2026. Every claim below names the page it was read on.
TrueNot a verified fact until the answer says so
The Story
A favorite trivia fact: Reno, Nevada, sits farther west than Los Angeles, California.
What Is Actually True
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb (Census 2020 incorporated places, internal point) puts Reno city at 39.5490970 N, 119.8499069 W [1].
- The same layer puts Los Angeles city at 34.0193936 N, 118.4108248 W [2].
- The longitude difference is 1.439 degrees; Reno is farther west [1][2].
- Our arithmetic: along the 34.02 degree parallel that is about 83 miles (133 km) of westward offset; the straight-line distance between the two points is about 390 miles (628 km) on a 6,371 km sphere, with Los Angeles to the south-southeast of Reno (bearing about 168 degrees) [1][2].
- These are the Census Bureau’s chosen internal points, so a different pair of points in each city would change the miles but not the result.
Still Unconfirmed
Nothing about the direction; the mileage is our calculation, not a quoted source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Reno really west of Los Angeles?
Yes. By Census internal points Reno is at 119.85 W and Los Angeles at 118.41 W [1][2].
How far west?
About 1.44 degrees of longitude, roughly 83 miles on the 34th parallel (our calculation) [1][2].
Why?
California’s coast bends east as it runs south; that is general geography and not in the sources above.
Sources
- TIGERweb query, Reno city, Census 2020 Incorporated Places layer (fields INTPTLAT, INTPTLON), U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-11-03.
- TIGERweb query, Los Angeles city, same layer, U.S. Census Bureau. Read 2026-11-03.
Cite this page: It’s Reno editorial team, “Reno Is West of L.A.,” itsreno.com/legends/reno-west-of-los-angeles/, checked November 3, 2026. Legends are labelled as legends; ghost stories are never invented.