City comparison
McLean, VA is about 2,200 miles (3,600 km) from Poway, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,800 miles, or about 47 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 Poway, CA takes about 4 h 30 min, covering roughly 2,200 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 Poway, CA is on Pacific Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in McLean, it's 9 a.m. in Poway, 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 48,737 in Poway — about the same size. By land area, Poway covers about 39 sq mi vs 25 sq mi for McLean.
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 | Poway | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,319/mo | $2,165/mo | 53.3% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $1,257,900 | $911,500 | 38.0% higher in McLean |
| Median household income | $250,001 | $135,605 | 84.4% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 104.3 | 107.6 | 3.2% higher in Poway |
| Utilities index | 105.6 | 169.8 | 60.8% higher in Poway |
| Transportation index | 102.2 | 100.0 | 2.1% higher in McLean |
| Healthcare index | 101.6 | 100.0 | 1.6% higher in McLean |
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 $110,227 in Poway to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
McLean, VA is about 9.3% cheaper overall than Poway, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 11% higher in Poway than in McLean. If you earn $80,000 in McLean, you'd need about $88,182 in Poway to keep the same standard of living.