Years Between Dates Calculator
Find the number of years between any two dates using the years between dates calculator below.
Years Between Dates:
Total Time Between Dates
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Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.
How to Calculate the Number of Years Between Dates
You can use the calculator above to find the number of years between any two dates. Before we can go over the steps to calculate years, it’s essential to understand which components make up a date.
A date typically consists of three parts:
- Day: The specific day of the month (1 to 31).
- Month: The month of the year (1 to 12).
- Year: The year in the Gregorian calendar.
When the dates fall on the same day and month, calculating the difference is as straightforward as subtracting the year in the first date from the second. Of course, this is the simplest case.
When the dates do not fall on the same day and month, you need to account for the exact days and months to get a precise duration. You can do this in a few easy steps.
Step One: Calculate the Difference in Years
The first step is to find the difference between the dates in years. You can do this by subtracting the year of the start date from the year in the end date.
Step Two: Calculate the Remaining Months
The next step is to find the remaining difference in months. To do this, start by determining if the month in the starting date is before or after the month in the ending date.
If the month in the end date is later in the year than the month in the start date, for instance, if the start date is in March and the end date is in June, then you can subtract the month number in the starting date from the month number in the ending date.
If the month in the end date is earlier in the year than the month in the start date, for instance, if the start date is in June and the end date is in March, then the process is a little different.
In this case, you’ll need to add 12 to the month number in the end date before subtracting the month number in the starting date from the month number in the ending date. Then, to account for the extra 12 months, subtract 1 from the years you found in step one.
You can verify this using our date calculator.
Step Three: Calculate the Remaining Days
The final step is to find the remaining difference in days. Just like in step two, you need to begin by determining if the day in the starting date is before or after the day in the ending date.
If the day in the end date is larger than the day in the start date, then you can subtract the day in the starting date from the day in the ending date.
On the other hand, if the day in the end date is smaller than the day in the start date, then you’ll need to count the days from the date in the starting month to the day of the following month to find the number of days in between.
In this case, to account for the extra days added, subtract 1 from the months you found in step two.
You can also use our date range calculator to find the number of days between dates.
For example, let’s find the number of years between March 15, 2010 and June 25, 2020.
Let’s start by subtracting the years.
2020 – 2010 = 10 years
Then, subtract the month number of the start date from the month number of the end date. March is month number 3, and June is month number 6.
6 – 3 = 3 months
And finally, subtract the day of the start date from the day of the end date.
25 – 15 = 10 days
So, in this example there are 10 years, 3 months, and 10 days between these dates. You can also use our years ago calculator to find the date 10 years ago.
Account for Leap Years
One final note is that it’s important to consider that, in some cases, you’ll need to account for leap years. If you’re counting the days between a date in February and a date in March, then you’ll need to add an additional day if the date falls in a leap year.
You might also be interested in our subtracting times calculator to find the difference in two time durations.