What is the Difference in Feet Between NAD83 and WGS84?

Technical Summary: The horizontal offset between the current realizations of NAD83(2011) and WGS84(G1762) is approximately 1 to 2 meters (3.28 to 6.56 feet) across the conterminous United States.
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Professional Risk Notice

Using the wrong datum or applying coordinates without grid-to-ground correction can cause 1–400 metre positional errors — a leading cause of surveying negligence claims and contract disputes.

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When mapping property boundaries or executing construction stakes, surveyors often face a critical question: should I use NAD83 or WGS84?

The Numeric Shift

According to the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and leading academic sources, the difference between the modern realizations is roughly 1 to 2 meters (3.28 to 6.56 feet). This difference is largely driven by the drifting of the North American tectonic plate, which WGS84 tracks dynamically but NAD83 holds fixed relative to the continent.

Why 3 to 6 Feet Matters

A 3-foot error in a property line or building foundation is catastrophic in construction (where tolerances are generally ±0.10 feet). Therefore, treating GPS-derived WGS84 coordinates as equivalent to NAD83 State Plane coordinates without proper EPSG transformations will virtually guarantee a 1-2m layout error.

Verify Coordinates with Core Tools

Always validate your site data before mobilizing construction or legal teams. Use our built-in coordinate converters to rule out fundamental geodetic errors:

Frequently Asked Technical Questions

How many feet is WGS84 off from NAD83?

In the continental US, the difference is currently about 3.28 to 6.56 feet (1 to 2 meters). This offset increases by roughly 1 to 2 centimeters per year due to continental drift.