Feet to Kilometers (ft → km) – Precise Conversion Guide
Core idea: 1 foot = 0.3048 meters (exact) and 1 kilometer = 1000 meters, so 1 foot = 0.0003048 km. Multiply feet by 0.0003048 to get kilometers. Reverse: divide km by 0.0003048 (or multiply by 3280.84) to get feet.
Formulas
km = ft × 0.0003048ft = km ÷ 0.0003048 (≡ ft = km × 3280.84)- Bridge through meters if helpful:
m = ft × 0.3048, then km = m ÷ 1000.
Quick Values
| Feet | Kilometers | Meters |
|---|
| 10 | 0.003048 | 3.048 |
| 100 | 0.03048 | 30.48 |
| 500 | 0.1524 | 152.4 |
| 1000 | 0.3048 | 304.8 |
| 5280 | 1.609344 | 1609.344 |
| 10000 | 3.048 | 3048 |
Worked Example
Example: Convert 2500 ft to kilometers.
km = 2500 × 0.0003048 = 0.762 km.
Where Used
- Converting small elevation or runway lengths to km for metric reports.
- Outdoor trail or course measurements expressed in feet locally, km internationally.
- Technical documentation normalizing imperial site data.
Accuracy & Tips
- 0.0003048 is exact; rounding only affects displayed digits.
- For a fast mental estimate: feet ÷ 3000 ≈ km (slightly low). Improve by adding ~1.6%.
- 1 km ≈ 3281 ft (rounded). Using 3300 ft is easier but introduces ~0.6% error.
More Examples
| Feet (ft) | Kilometers (km) | Meters (m) |
|---|
| 750 | 0.2286 | 228.6 |
| 2000 | 0.6096 | 609.6 |
| 5000 | 1.524 | 1524 |
| 8000 | 2.4384 | 2438.4 |
| 15000 | 4.572 | 4572 |
FAQ
- How many feet in 1 km? 3280.84 ft (exact to 2 decimal places; more precisely 3280.839895...).
- How many km is 1 mile? 1 mi = 1.609344 km (ties into 5280 ft example above).
- Why such small km numbers? A kilometer is large; even hundreds of feet are only fractions of a km.
- Best mental shortcut? Divide feet by 3000 and add a small correction (~1.5%).
All conversions use exact international definitions.