PostgreSQL's earthdistance Extension Handles Location Queries Without Full GIS Stack

PostgreSQL's earthdistance extension enables great-circle distance calculations between geographic coordinates without requiring a dedicated GIS setup. When paired with the cube extension, the ll_to_earth() function converts latitude and longitude into a format that earth_distance() can process to return distances in meters. The extension also includes earth_box(), which supports efficient nearby-location searches by using indexed bounding-box queries to narrow candidates before applying precise distance filtering. A simpler alternative using PostgreSQL's built-in point type can return distances in statute miles. While earthdistance treats Earth as a sphere and is not a substitute for PostGIS in complex spatial scenarios, it is well-suited for straightforward proximity queries such as finding all locations within a given radius.