Meet halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles
The fair place to meet is Denver, CO — the city closest to the midpoint of Chicago and Los Angeles. From the farther side that’s about 19 hr 15 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Denver, CO
From Chicago
19 hr 15 min
918 mi to Denver
From Los Angeles
17 hr 24 min
830 mi to Denver
Los Angeles has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 1 hr 51 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Chicago and Los Angeles are about 1,742 miles apart.
More meetups from Chicago
Meeting in Denver
Chicago and Los Angeles are about 1,742 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Denver, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 19 hr 15 min of driving on the Chicago side and 17 hr 24 min on the Los Angeles 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. Denver still makes a fair, central place for Chicago and Los Angeles to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Denver doesn't have what you're after, Albuquerque and Oklahoma City are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Chicago and Los Angeles.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Chicago and Los Angeles?
- Denver, CO is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 1,742 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 19 hr 15 min from the farther city to Denver.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.