City comparison
Renton, WA is about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from Reston, VA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 2,900 miles, or about 48 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 Renton, WA to Reston, VA takes about 4 h 36 min, covering roughly 2,300 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.
Renton, WA is on Pacific Time and Reston, VA is on Eastern Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in Renton, it's 3 p.m. in Reston, which puts Renton 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.
Renton has a population of 105,355, vs 62,339 in Reston — about 1.7× larger by population. By land area, Renton covers about 24 sq mi vs 15 sq mi for Reston.
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 | Renton | Reston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,864/mo | $2,109/mo | 13.1% higher in Reston |
| Median home value | $576,800 | $591,900 | 2.6% higher in Reston |
| Median household income | $92,292 | $135,503 | 46.8% higher in Reston |
| Groceries index | 104.0 | 104.3 | ≈ equal (Reston slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 95.7 | 105.6 | 10.4% higher in Reston |
| Transportation index | 106.6 | 102.2 | 4.4% higher in Renton |
| Healthcare index | 106.6 | 101.6 | 4.9% higher in Renton |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Renton, you'd need $100,097 in Reston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Renton and Reston have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. If you earn $80,000 in Renton, you'd need about $80,077 in Reston to keep the same standard of living.