Buffalo · the midpoint
Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It lies in Western New York on the eastern shore of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River on the Canada–United States border. Read more →
Meet halfway between Boston and Detroit
The fair place to meet is Buffalo, NY — the city closest to the midpoint of Boston and Detroit. From the farther side that’s about 8 hr 22 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Buffalo, NY
From Boston
8 hr 22 min
399 mi to Buffalo
From Detroit
4 hr 31 min
215 mi to Buffalo
Detroit has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 3 hr 51 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Boston and Detroit are about 612 miles apart.
More meetups from Boston
Meeting in Buffalo
Boston and Detroit are about 612 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Buffalo, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 8 hr 22 min of driving on the Boston side and 4 hr 31 min on the Detroit side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Buffalo suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Buffalo doesn't have what you're after, Philadelphia and New York are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Boston and Detroit.
About the cities
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It serves as a cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. Read more →
Detroit
Detroit is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. It is the 26th-most populous city in the United States and the largest U.S. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Boston and Detroit?
- Buffalo, NY is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 612 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 8 hr 22 min from the farther city to Buffalo.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.