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Columbus · United States

Car hire and driving in Columbus

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In United States traffic drives on the right. Picking up at CMH means 10 km (6 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q533806.

Drives from Columbus

Car rental from Columbus: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Columbus to DaytonUnited States104 km (65 mi)about 1 h 25 min
Columbus to CincinnatiUnited States160 km (99 mi)about 2 h 10 min
Columbus to MeadsUnited States174 km (108 mi)about 2 h 22 min
Columbus to AkronUnited States177 km (110 mi)about 2 h 24 min
Columbus to ToledoUnited States195 km (121 mi)about 2 h 39 min
Columbus to ClevelandUnited States203 km (126 mi)about 2 h 45 min
Columbus to Fort WayneUnited States222 km (138 mi)about 3 h 1 min
Columbus to Lexington-FayetteUnited States247 km (154 mi)about 3 h 21 min
Columbus to LexingtonUnited States254 km (158 mi)about 3 h 26 min
Columbus to WindsorCanada260 km (162 mi)about 3 h 32 min
Columbus to PittsburghUnited States261 km (162 mi)about 3 h 32 min
Columbus to DetroitUnited States264 km (164 mi)about 3 h 34 min
Columbus to New York CityUnited States766 km (476 mi)about 10 h 23 min
Columbus to TorontoCanada512 km (318 mi)about 6 h 57 min
Columbus to BrooklynUnited States771 km (479 mi)about 10 h 27 min
Columbus to ChicagoUnited States444 km (276 mi)about 6 h 1 min
Columbus to QueensUnited States781 km (485 mi)about 10 h 35 min
Columbus to HoustonUnited States1,596 km (992 mi)about 21 h 38 min
Columbus to MontréalCanada984 km (612 mi)about 13 h 21 min
Columbus to PhiladelphiaUnited States668 km (415 mi)about 9 h 3 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Columbus?

The right, as everywhere in United States.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.