How to Find People by Location on Facebook

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: August 18, 2022 Tested

On Mobile

|

On Desktop

This wikiHow teaches you how to use Facebook to search for people who are in a specific location. For this to work, the person for whom you're searching has to have an accurate location listed on their profile. You can search for people by location using both the Facebook mobile app and the Facebook desktop site.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Mobile

1
Open Facebook. The Facebook app icon looks like a white "f" on a dark-blue background. Facebook will open to your News Feed if you're already logged in.
- If you aren't already logged in, enter your email address (or phone number) and password, then tap Log in.
2
Tap the search bar. It's at the top of the screen. This will bring up your device's keyboard.

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3
Enter a person's name. Type in a person's name, then tap Search.
4
Tap the People tab. It's in the upper-left side of the page. This will limit your search to include only people.
5
Tap the City ▼ tab. It's below and to the right of the People tab near the top of the screen. This will bring up a window at the bottom of the screen.
6
Tap the "Find a city" search bar. It's at the top of the window that's at the bottom of the screen.
7
Type in a city's name. You'll see suggestions appear below the search bar as you type.
8
Tap the city you want to search in. It should be below the search bar.
9
Tap Apply. It's in the top-right corner of the "City" window that's at the bottom of the screen. Doing so will bring up a list of people who have both the name and the location you entered on their profiles.
- 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.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Desktop

1
Open Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/. This will open your Facebook News Feed if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged in, enter your email address (or phone number) and password in the top-right side of the page.
2
Click the search bar. This field is at the top of the Facebook page.
3
Enter a person's name. Type in the name of the person you want to find, then press ↵ Enter. Doing so brings up a list of people in your area with a matching (or similar) name.
4
Click the People tab. It's just below the search bar at the top of the Facebook page.
5
Click the Choose a city link. You'll find this link on the left side of the page beneath the "City" heading. Clicking it opens a search bar.
6
Type in a city's name. You'll see suggestions appear below the search bar as you type.
7
Click a city's name. It should be below the search bar. This will refresh the search results to display people who have both the name and the city you selected on their profile.
- 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.