Qibla Direction in Chicago, Illinois

How to face the Qibla in Chicago

1. With your phone: tap Open the live Qibla compass, allow location (and, on iPhone, motion access), then turn slowly until the Kaaba on the dial reaches the mark at the top.
2. With a regular compass: hold it flat, turn it until the needle sits on N, then face 52.9° on the dial. That is the magnetic bearing; reading 48.7° off a magnetic compass would leave you about 4.2° off.
3. With the map: open the live compass, switch to Map and follow the gold line from your position to the Kaaba. It does not use the compass at all.

If a phone compass looks wrong, move the phone in a figure-eight a few times, away from laptops, speakers, car dashboards and magnetic cases, and hold it flat while you turn.

Why the Qibla from Chicago points northeast

From Chicago, in the middle of the continent, the Kaaba is 6,926 miles away, and on a Mercator map the straight line to it points 101°, east. Following the curve of the earth instead, the great circle leaves Chicago at 48.7°, heads up over the North Atlantic to about 56° N, and only then bends south toward Arabia. That great-circle bearing, northeast, is the one the finder gives.

Nearby cities

• Bridgeview, IL48.6° NE · 13 mi away
• Milwaukee, WI48.3° NE · 81 mi away
• Indianapolis, IN50.1° NE · 165 mi away
• Dearborn, MI51.9° NE · 230 mi away
• Detroit, MI52.0° NE · 237 mi away

See every city in the USA, or use the Qibla Finder for your exact spot.