2 Ways to Find People by Location on Facebook + Alternatives

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An easy guide to finding a person based on their city

Co-authored by Rain Kengly Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: June 2, 2025 Fact Checked

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Searching by Location on Mobile

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Searching by Location on Desktop

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Other Ways to Find People

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Video

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Tips

Do you want to catch up with an old school friend on Facebook? If the person you're looking for has a common name, it will be easier to find them by searching for their name and location together. When you search for people on Facebook by location, you can easily find people in your current city, hometown, or any other city you choose. This wikiHow guide will show you how to search for somebody by location on Facebook using the mobile app for Android, iPhone, or iPad, as well as on your computer.

Finding Friends by Location

In the Facebook mobile app, tap the search icon and search for a name. To filter the results by location, tap People, select the filter icon, then tap City to search by city.
On a computer, search for a person's name, click People, then select a city.
Finding people by location on Facebook only works if the person you're looking for has their current city or hometown on their profile.

Section 1 of 3:

Searching by Location on Mobile

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On your Android, iPhone, or iPad, you'll see the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the Facebook app.
A list of results will appear.^{[1]
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It's in the upper-left side of the page.^{[2]
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This icon looks like multiple lines with sliders on them. It's to the right of the search bar at the top of your page.^{[3]
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By default, this says "Anywhere," but you'll want to change that to limit your search to people with that name in a specific city.
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Type a city name. You'll see suggestions appear below the search bar as you type.
- Alternatively, tap Nearby if you want the search to include cities near you.
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Tap Show Results. You'll see this button at the bottom of your screen. Tapping it will refresh the results to only show you people with that name in the selected city.
- For example, if you typed in "John Smith" as the name and selected Detroit as the city, Facebook would bring up a list of all users named John Smith who have Detroit set as their location.

Section 2 of 3:

Searching by Location on Desktop

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Type a person's name into the search bar and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. You'll find the search bar at the top of Facebook.^{[4]
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- If you're not already signed in to Facebook, enter your login details to do so now.
- If you don't have a specific person in mind and want to find friends in your area, see the next section for alternative ways to find people.
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Click the People tab. It's in the panel on the left side of the page. This filters your results to show only people.^{[5]
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- If you don't see this tab, click See All underneath the search results at the center of the page. This will expand the search results page, and you'll see the Filters panel on the left.
You'll see this option under "People" in the left panel. The City drop-down menu will open.
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Type the location you want to search for. If you want to search for your current location or hometown, you can click it in the menu. Otherwise, start typing the name of the city into the field, then click the city in the search results.
- This filters the search results to show only people in the location you entered.
- For example, if you typed in "Sarah Smith" as the name and selected New York as the city, you would see a list of people named Sarah Smith who live in New York displayed here.
- If you need to find someone and you only have their name, you can select Anywhere from the drop-down menu to find all Facebook users with the same name in any location.
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View a profile. Click a user to view their full profile. You can check the person's public information, such as school, Likes, groups, and more, if visible. To send a friend request, click Add friend below their profile picture.
- Keep in mind that searching by location only works if the person for whom you're searching has a location listed on their profile.

Section 3 of 3:

Other Ways to Find People

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Search for friends using groups. If you want to meet other people in your location, you can try searching for local groups. This is easier than searching for individual users since Facebook doesn't have a way to filter users based on location alone. To search for groups, do the following:
- Enter a keyword or keywords into the search bar. (Ex: volleyball, gaming, etc.)
- Select Groups in the left panel.
- Toggle on Near Me or enter a city in the field.
- Select a group from the results.
- Select the group's People tab to view local members.
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Look through your friends' friend list. If you have other Facebook friends, you can use their friend list to find other friends who may be in your area. To view your friends' friend list, do the following:
- Navigate to a friend's profile.
- Select the Friends tab.
- View the list of friends.
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Search using work or education. In addition to searching for people by city, you can find others using an employer or a school. Do the following:
- Enter an employer, business, or school in the search bar.
- Select the People tab.
- If necessary, enter education or work again in the field.
- View the list of suggestions.

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Tips

If you can't find them on Facebook, try performing a reverse image search to find them by a picture.

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People don't always use their real names as their Facebook names, which makes them more difficult to find. Check your other friends to see if they have your other friend on their page. You can also filter by school or work.

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