MidRally

Meet halfway between Buffalo and Omaha

The fair place to meet is Chicago, IL — the city closest to the midpoint of Buffalo and Omaha. From the farther side that’s about 9 hr 28 min of driving.

Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL — the midpoint Photo: File:Chicago River ferry.jpg: John Picken derivative work: Geor… / CC BY 2.0 · Commons

Recommended midpoint

Chicago, IL

From Buffalo

9 hr 28 min

452 mi to Chicago

From Omaha

9 hr 3 min

431 mi to Chicago

Omaha has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 25 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Buffalo and Omaha are about 880 miles apart.

More meetups from Buffalo

More meetups from Omaha

Meeting in Chicago

Buffalo and Omaha are about 880 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Chicago, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 9 hr 28 min of driving on the Buffalo side and 9 hr 3 min on the Omaha side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.

Over this distance most people will fly rather than drive the whole way. Chicago still makes a fair, central place for Buffalo and Omaha to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.

If Chicago doesn't have what you're after, Milwaukee and Indianapolis are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Buffalo and Omaha.

About the cities

Chicago · the midpoint

Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. Read more →

Buffalo

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 →

Omaha

Omaha is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Read more →

City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.

Questions

Where is the halfway point between Buffalo and Omaha?
Chicago, IL is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
How far apart are they?
About 880 miles by road.
How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
Roughly 9 hr 28 min from the farther city to Chicago.

Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.