Feet to Miles Calculator

The foot and mile are both units of length in the yard-pound system and US customary system but they differ greatly. The foot is a unit that is roughly equivalent to the length of one hand and is used for measuring height or room dimensions while the mile is used for large distances such as roads, running tracks or travel. This calculator allows you to convert between these two units and also displays the result in yards, meters, kilometers, inches and centimeters.

How to convert feet to miles:

Since there are exactly 5,280 feet in a mile, to convert feet to miles, you simply divide the number of feet by 5,280. Dividing by 5,280 is the same as multiplying by 0.0001893939 (the reciprocal of 5,280).

Let's say a straight section of track is 360 feet long. If you divide 360 by 5,280, it would be approximately .0682 miles. A 10,000 foot length would be 1.8939 miles since 10,000 divided by 5,280 is that number.

To convert miles to feet:

Converting the other way is even easier. Since there are exactly 5,280 feet in a mile, you can convert miles into feet by multiplying by 5,280.

Two miles is the product of 2 and 5,280 which equals 10,560 feet. 5 kilometers is approximately 3.107 miles or 16,404 feet. To use this calculator, select "miles" as your input unit and check the result in feet.

Miles, feet, yards

The mile is defined in terms of other units of the imperial system and it pays to be aware of this. The following are all representations of the same distance:

• 1 mile is equal to 5,280 feet.

• 1 mile is equal to 1,760 yards (one yard equals three feet).

• 1 mile is equal to 8 furlongs (one furlong equals 660 feet).

• 1 mile is exactly equal to 1,609.344 meters or 1.609344 kilometers.

Since a yard is three feet, the number of yards will always be the result of dividing the number of feet by three. The calculator shows all those values next to the miles result so you don't have to do any conversions yourself.

A notation that combines miles and feet.

Longer distances are usually expressed as whole miles with the remaining feet added on. This is a common representation on road signs and in measurements. The total distance is first divided into whole miles and a decimal part, then the decimal part is multiplied by 5,280 to get the remaining feet.

8,000 feet is equal to 1.5152 miles and can be expressed as 1 mile and 2,720 feet. This is because the difference between 8,000 and 5,280 is 2,720. The calculator will automatically show the conversion into whole miles and feet next to the decimal result.

Example calculation.

Now let's go through some examples of conversions step by step.

• To convert feet to miles, divide the number by 5,280. So, 360 divided by 5,280 is about .0682 miles. This is roughly equivalent to the length of an American football field including the end zones.

• To convert 1,000 feet to miles, divide the number by 5,280, which gives you 0.1894 miles.

• To convert 46,000 feet into miles, divide the number by 5,280 which equals approximately 8.712 miles. This is a typical cruising altitude for an airplane, expressed in miles.

• Conversely that means there are 10,560 feet in 2 miles, by multiplying 2 by 5,280.

• A furlong is equal to 660 feet, which is exactly 0.125 miles or one-eighth of a mile.

Feet to miles conversion table:

These are practical reference values. For intermediate lengths you can divide any value by 5,280. Conversely, this table can also be reversed to convert miles into feet.

What is a foot?

A foot is a unit of length in the yard-pound system and US customary system, equal to exactly 0.3048 meters or 12 inches. Three feet make up one yard, and 5,280 feet make up one mile. The name derives from the human foot size. Prior to standardization, it varied by region but was approximately 250 to 335 millimeters.

Today the foot is mainly used in the United States, Canada and Britain to express height, room sizes and short distances. It is also used almost worldwide for measuring altitude. Even in countries that use the metric system, altitudes of aircraft are often given in feet.

What is a mile?

A mile is exactly defined as 5280 feet, 1760 yards or 1609.344 meters. This is the Statute Mile, also known as Land Mile, used in the United States and Great Britain for road distances and speed limits.

There is another mile that should not be confused with this one. The nautical mile is used at sea and in the air and is a unit of length equal to about 1,852 meters, which is significantly longer than the statute mile. A Roman mile was approximately 5,000 feet long, and some historical regions had even longer measures for a mile.

Why is a mile equal to 5,280 feet?

The number 5,280 seems unusual at first glance but it comes from the old British unit "furlong". A furlong was the length of field that could be ploughed by an ox before needing a rest. One furlong is equal to 660 feet and one mile was defined as being 8 furlongs. If you multiply 660 by eight, you get 5,280.

England set the legal mile in 1593. To reconcile the mile with the furlong already used to measure agricultural land, they chose 8 furlongs instead of the shorter Roman mile of 5,000 feet. This gave rise to the number 5,280 which is not a particularly round number.

Here's how to use this calculator.

• Enter length in the input field.

• Select the desired unit from the drop-down menu. By default, feet is selected when converting from miles to feet. If you want to start with a different unit, select between miles, yards, meters, kilometers, inches or centimeters.

• Check your results for miles, with feet values next to them.

• Scroll to see the results in yards, meters and kilometers as well as breaking it down into whole miles and feet. You can also check out centimeters, inches and millimeters for shorter lengths.

Conversion results are for general reference only. For work where engineering, legal, surveying or safety is important, compare values with authoritative standards and verify numbers and required accuracy.