Map of León, León Department, Nicaragua

León is the administrative centre of León Department, Nicaragua, with a population of about 144,538. It lies at 12.4379°N, 86.8780°W. León is about 76 km (47 mi) northwest of Managua, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Chinandega, 35 km to the northwest.

León at a glance

Where is León?

• The 2nd largest city in Nicaragua by recorded population.
• Located in the Northern and Western hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 11 h 24 min on the shortest day to 12 h 51 min on the longest day (around 21 December and 21 June).

Cities near León

• Chinandega — 35 km northwest
• El Viejo — 40 km northwest
• Mateare — 54 km southeast
• Ciudad Sandino — 66 km southeast
• Managua — 76 km southeast
• Tipitapa — 89 km east
• Estelí — 92 km northeast
• Diriamba — 95 km southeast
• Masaya — 100 km southeast
• Ciudad Choluteca — 102 km north, Honduras

Largest cities in Nicaragua

• Managua — 973,087
• Masaya — 130,113
• Chinandega — 126,387
• Matagalpa — 109,089
• Estelí — 96,422
• Granada — 89,409
• Mateare — 61,234
• Jinotega — 55,000
• El Viejo — 53,504
• Nueva Guinea — 52,929

Map of Nicaragua and all its cities →

Other places named León

• León — Castille and León, Spain

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.