City comparison
Castro Valley, CA is about 2,400 miles (3,900 km) from McLean, VA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 3,000 miles, or about 50 hours (about 5 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Castro Valley, CA to McLean, VA takes about 4 h 49 min, covering roughly 2,400 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Castro Valley, CA is on Pacific Time and McLean, VA is on Eastern Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in Castro Valley, it's 3 p.m. in McLean, which puts Castro Valley 3 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Castro Valley has a population of 65,444, vs 49,587 in McLean — about 1.3× larger by population. By land area, McLean covers about 25 sq mi vs 17 sq mi for Castro Valley.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Castro Valley | McLean | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,383/mo | $3,319/mo | 39.3% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $1,013,900 | $1,257,900 | 24.1% higher in McLean |
| Median household income | $132,174 | $250,001 | 89.1% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 108.1 | 104.3 | 3.6% higher in Castro Valley |
| Utilities index | 168.3 | 105.6 | 59.3% higher in Castro Valley |
| Transportation index | 106.1 | 102.2 | 3.8% higher in Castro Valley |
| Healthcare index | 106.0 | 101.6 | 4.3% higher in Castro Valley |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Castro Valley, you'd need $85,573 in McLean to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
McLean, VA is about 14.4% cheaper overall than Castro Valley, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 20% higher in Castro Valley than in McLean. If you earn $80,000 in Castro Valley, you'd need about $68,458 in McLean to keep the same standard of living.