City comparison
McLean, VA is about 2,400 miles (3,900 km) from Newark, CA 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 McLean, VA to Newark, CA 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.
McLean, VA is on Eastern Time and Newark, CA is on Pacific Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in McLean, it's 9 a.m. in Newark, which puts McLean 3 hours ahead.
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.
McLean has a population of 49,587, vs 47,470 in Newark — about the same size. By land area, McLean covers about 25 sq mi vs 14 sq mi for Newark.
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 | McLean | Newark | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,319/mo | $2,644/mo | 25.5% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $1,257,900 | $1,034,900 | 21.5% higher in McLean |
| Median household income | $250,001 | $159,465 | 56.8% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 104.3 | 108.1 | 3.6% higher in Newark |
| Utilities index | 105.6 | 168.3 | 59.3% higher in Newark |
| Transportation index | 102.2 | 106.1 | 3.8% higher in Newark |
| Healthcare index | 101.6 | 106.0 | 4.3% higher in Newark |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in McLean, you'd need $117,471 in Newark to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
McLean, VA is about 14.9% cheaper overall than Newark, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 22% higher in Newark than in McLean. If you earn $80,000 in McLean, you'd need about $93,977 in Newark to keep the same standard of living.