PDF download Download Article
An easy-to-follow guide to finding a person based on their city on Facebook
PDF download Download Article

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.

Things You Should Know

  • In the 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.
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

On Mobile

PDF download Download Article
  1. On your Android, iPhone, or iPad, you'll see the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the Facebook app.
  2. A list of results will appear.
    Advertisement
  3. It's in the upper-left side of the page. [1]
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 .
  7. 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.
  8. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

On Desktop

PDF download Download Article
  1. You'll find the search bar at the top of Facebook.
    • If you're not already signed in to Facebook , enter your login details to do so now.
  2. It's in the panel on the left side of the page. This filters your results to show only people.
  3. You'll see this option under "People" in the left panel. A menu will expand.
  4. 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.
  5. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      • People don't always use their real names as their Facebook names, which makes them more difficult to [Find-Your-Friends-On-Facebook|find]]. Check your other friends to see if they have your other friend on their page. You can also filter by school or work.
      • Searching by location only works if the person for whom you're searching has a location listed on their profile.
      • If you can't find them on Facebook, try performing a reverse image search to find them by a picture.
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 337,201 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement