How to Search Facebook by Location: Finding Friends by City

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Easily find people on Facebook who live near you

Co-authored by Christina Jay, NLP and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: May 28, 2025 Fact Checked

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Using a Phone or Tablet

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Using a Computer

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FAQ

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Video

Facebook makes it easy to connect with people from all over the world. This wikiHow guide will teach you how to search for friends and new connections by city on Facebook using your computer, Android, iPhone, or iPad, and answer common questions about how Facebook uses your location to help you connect with friends. You can use these methods to browse your friends and other people you might know in a city, or to search for a specific person in your chosen city.

Finding Friends or New Connections by City

To browse for people by city on Facebook, type the name of the city into the Search field, then select it from the results. Click or tap the People tab to display profiles that mention the city you searched for. You can also search for a person’s name, select People, and then filter your results by city.

Section 1 of 3:

Using the Facebook Mobile App

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1
Tap
in the Facebook app. It's the magnifying glass at the top of the Facebook app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.^{[1]
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- If you do not currently have the Facebook app installed on your mobile device, you can download it for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPad, or the Google Play Store on Android devices.
- The first time you open the Facebook app, you will need to sign in with your phone number or email address and your account password.
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Enter the name of a city in the search bar and tap the result. Use the on-screen keyboard to enter the name of a city. Tap the correct result in the list of terms that appears below the search bar (otherwise, you will trigger an answer from Meta’s new AI search feature).
- You can also try searching for a person's name and city at the same time. For example, "Bill Williams, Portland OR".^{[2]
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Tap the People tab. It's the third tab at the top of the page. This displays a list of friends and people you may know from the city you entered.
- Typically, people you're friends with will be listed at the top of the page—they'll have blue "Message" buttons below their names.
- People you aren't friends with have blue buttons that say "Add friend" below their names. You might have to scroll down to see these people.
- If you don't want to see people you've already added as friends, you can set it to view friends of friends instead. To do so, tap the two slider bars in the upper-right corner, tap Friends, select Friends of friends from the list, then tap Show results.
  - To see only people you are already friends with, choose My Friends instead. By default, Anyone is selected.
To select a different city, tap the two slider bars in the upper-right corner, select City, and enter the name of a city you want to search. Tap the city name in the list of search results and then tap Show Results at the bottom of the page.
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Search for a specific name, then filter by city. If you’re looking for a particular person in a specific city, try this alternative approach:^{[3]
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- Tap the
  Search icon at the top of the app and type in a person’s name. Select the name from the list of search results.
- Tap the People tab at the top of the screen.
- Tap the icon that looks like a pair of sliders at the top right side of the screen. Select City, type in the name of a city, and tap Show Results. This will bring up anyone with the name you searched for (or with a similar name) in that city. Scroll through the list of results to find the person you’re looking for.
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Search for Facebook friends in a specific city. A quick way to find all your Facebook friends who live in a specific city is to type friends in [city name] into the Facebook search bar and press Enter or Search. A list of your friends who have set their current cities to the city you specified will appear.
- For example, searching Facebook for "friends in Chicago" will display a list of all of your Facebook friends who have their current cities set to Chicago.

Section 2 of 3:

Using a Web Browser on a Computer

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Search for the name of a city in the "Search Facebook" field. It’s at the top left side of the page. Click the field and type in the name of the city you want to search, then click the result you want in the list that appears below the search bar.
- You can use any web browser of your choice on a PC, Mac, or Chromebook to search for friends by city on Facebook.
- If you're not automatically signed into Facebook in your browser, enter your email address or phone number and your password to log in.
- You can also try searching for a person's name and city at the same time. For example, "Bill Williams, Portland OR".^{[4]
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It's the third option in the menu on the left. This filters the results to show only people whose profiles mention the city you search for.
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Filter the results. Typically, people you have already added as friends will be listed at the top. Your friends will have buttons that say "Message" next to their names. People you may know will have buttons that say "Add Friend" next to their names. If you don't want to see your current friends:
- Click Friends under the "People" header on the left side of the menu.
- By default, Anyone is selected. To see only people in the selected city with whom you have mutual friends, choose Friends of friends.
- Alternatively, to see only the people you are already friends with, choose My Friends.
- If you want to enter a different city, click City below the "People" header in the menu to the left to display a search bar. Type the name of the city you want to search for, then select the result you want when it pops up.
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Search for a name, then filter by city. If you want to search for a specific person in a particular city, you can do this as an alternative to browsing through friends, friends of friends, and random people in a city. To do it:^{[5]
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- Type the name of a person into the Search Facebook bar at the top left side of the screen. Select the desired result when it pops up in the list below the search bar.
- Click People in the left-hand menu. This will bring up a list of people by the name you searched for (or people with similar names).
- Click the City header below People in the left-hand menu.
- Type in the name of the city you want to search and click on the result. Now you’ll only see people from that city.
- You can also use the Friends menu on the left to select whether you see people with that name who are already your friends, friends of friends, or anyone who’s a close match in your selected city.
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Search for Facebook friends in a specific city. A quick way to find all your Facebook friends who live in a specific city is to type friends in [city name] into the Facebook search bar and press Enter or Return. A list of your friends who have set their current cities to the city you specified will appear.
- For example, searching Facebook for "friends in Chicago" will display a list of all of your Facebook friends who have their current cities set to Chicago.

Section 3 of 3:

FAQ

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How do I find FB friends near my location? Facebook used to have an option called Nearby Friends that allowed you to find friends who were nearby based on your real-time location. This feature was discontinued in 2022.^{[6]
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Research source} If you want to see all your Facebook friends who live in a specific city, search Facebook for "friends in (city name)." For example, "friends in Philadelphia" will display a list of your Facebook friends who have set their current cities to Philadelphia.
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Does Facebook suggest friends based on location? The suggested friends in People You May Know are recommended based on information in your profile, including your location and mutual friends.^{[7]
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How do you search for a Facebook person by location? If you know the person's name, you can search for them on Facebook, click or tap the People tab, then filter the results to show matches from a specific city.
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Does Facebook show your exact location? If you share your location on Facebook, your location is determined by your IP address and the location of the Wi-Fi network you connect to. If you share your precise location in Location Services on your phone or tablet, Facebook also uses GPS information to show your location.^{[8]
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