Memphis · the midpoint
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Read more →
Meet halfway between Chicago and New Orleans
The fair place to meet is Memphis, TN — the city closest to the midpoint of Chicago and New Orleans. From the farther side that’s about 10 hr 8 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Memphis, TN
From Chicago
10 hr 8 min
483 mi to Memphis
From New Orleans
7 hr 32 min
359 mi to Memphis
New Orleans has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 2 hr 36 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Chicago and New Orleans are about 835 miles apart.
More meetups from Chicago
Meeting in Memphis
Chicago and New Orleans are about 835 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Memphis, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 10 hr 8 min of driving on the Chicago side and 7 hr 32 min on the New Orleans 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. Memphis still makes a fair, central place for Chicago and New Orleans to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Memphis doesn't have what you're after, Nashville and Birmingham are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Chicago and New Orleans.
About the cities
Chicago
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 →
New Orleans
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Chicago and New Orleans?
- Memphis, TN is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 835 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 10 hr 8 min from the farther city to Memphis.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.