Airports
JFK vs LaGuardia vs Newark: Which Airport Is Closest to Your NYC Neighborhood?
Which New York airport is closest to you? Typical drive times from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark.
By the Black Car Service Limo dispatch team · Updated · 6 min read
Key takeaways
- From most of Manhattan, LaGuardia is the quickest airport by car; from Tribeca and the Financial District, Newark via the Holland Tunnel is often quicker.
- JFK is the longest drive from Manhattan — typically 45 min – 1 hr 15 min from Midtown — but has the widest choice of international flights.
- From Queens, LaGuardia and JFK are both short drives; from Jamaica, Howard Beach, and southeast Brooklyn, JFK is closest.
- From Staten Island and Bay Ridge, Newark is usually the easiest airport, over the Goethals or Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
- LaGuardia’s perimeter rule limits most nonstops to about 1,500 miles, so long-haul trips usually mean JFK or Newark.
Typical drive times by neighborhood
These are typical off-peak-to-busy ranges by car, not transit. Weekday rush hours, Friday afternoons, holidays, and weather push them toward the high end — and departures deserve extra margin.
| From | LaGuardia (LGA) | JFK Airport | Newark Airport (EWR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper East Side, Manhattan | 15–30 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min | 35–55 min |
| Upper West Side, Manhattan | 20–35 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min | 30–55 min |
| Harlem, Manhattan | 15–30 min | 35 min – 1 hr | 35 min – 1 hr |
| Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan | 25–40 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min | 30–50 min |
| Chelsea, Manhattan | 25–45 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min | 30–50 min |
| Financial District & Battery Park City, Manhattan | 30–50 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min | 25–50 min |
| Williamsburg, Brooklyn | 20–35 min | 30–55 min | 35 min – 1 hr 5 min |
| Park Slope, Brooklyn | 25–50 min | 30–55 min | 35 min – 1 hr |
| Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | 35 min – 1 hr 5 min | 35 min – 1 hr | 30–50 min |
| Sheepshead Bay & Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn | 40 min – 1 hr 5 min | 30–50 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min |
| Long Island City, Queens | 15–25 min | 30–50 min | 45 min – 1 hr 10 min |
| Astoria, Queens | 10–20 min | 30–50 min | 45 min – 1 hr 15 min |
| Flushing, Queens | 10–20 min | 20–40 min | 55 min – 1 hr 25 min |
| Jamaica, Queens | 20–35 min | 10–25 min | 55 min – 1 hr 30 min |
| Riverdale, Bronx | 25–40 min | 35 min – 1 hr 5 min | 45 min – 1 hr 5 min |
| Concourse & Yankee Stadium, Bronx | 15–25 min | 30–50 min | 40 min – 1 hr 10 min |
| St. George, Staten Island | 45 min – 1 hr 20 min | 40 min – 1 hr 10 min | 20–40 min |
LaGuardia: closest for most of Manhattan, the Bronx, and northwest Queens
LaGuardia sits on the Queens shore a few minutes from the RFK (Triborough) Bridge, which makes it the shortest airport run from the Upper East Side, Harlem, most of the Bronx, and Astoria, Long Island City, and Jackson Heights. From North Brooklyn, the BQE gets you there quickly too.
The catch is range. A perimeter rule limits most LaGuardia nonstops to about 1,500 miles, with a few exceptions, so many West Coast flights and all transatlantic flights leave from JFK or Newark instead.
JFK: the long run with the most international flights
JFK is New York’s main international gateway, with nonstops to more overseas destinations than either of the others. From Manhattan it is the longest drive, via the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Long Island Expressway or the RFK Bridge and the Grand Central Parkway, with the Van Wyck as the usual bottleneck.
From southeast Queens and southeast Brooklyn, though, JFK is the closest airport: the Van Wyck and the Belt Parkway lead straight to it.
Newark: closer than you think from downtown and Staten Island
Newark Liberty is in New Jersey, but from Lower Manhattan the Holland Tunnel makes it competitive with LaGuardia, and from Staten Island and Bay Ridge it is usually the quickest airport of all. It is United’s hub, with a large domestic and international schedule, and its new Terminal A opened in 2023.
From Queens and the east Bronx, Newark is the long run: every route crosses Manhattan or goes around through Brooklyn and Staten Island.
A simple way to decide
- Upper Manhattan, the East Side, the Bronx, or northwest Queens, flying domestic? Start with LaGuardia.
- Lower Manhattan, the Far West Side, Staten Island, or Bay Ridge? Compare Newark.
- Southeast Queens or southeast Brooklyn, or flying long-haul international? JFK.
- When fares are close, pick the airport with the shorter, more predictable drive.