The fair place to meet is Columbus, OH — the city closest to the midpoint of Cleveland and Detroit. From the farther side that’s about 3 hr 26 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Columbus, OH
From Cleveland
3 hr 9 min
126 mi to Columbus
From Detroit
3 hr 26 min
164 mi to Columbus
That’s an even split — both sides drive within 17 min of each other. Cleveland and Detroit are about 90 miles apart.
Cleveland and Detroit are about 90 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Columbus, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That splits the trip almost evenly — about 3 hr 9 min from Cleveland and 3 hr 26 min from Detroit.
At this range, Columbus works for a same-day meetup: close enough from both Cleveland and Detroit to meet for lunch or an afternoon and still be home by evening.
If Columbus doesn't have what you're after, Pittsburgh and Buffalo are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Cleveland and Detroit.
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., second-most populous city in the Midwest, and third-most populous U.S. state capital. Read more →
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the lake from Ontario, Canada, and is approximately 60 miles west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line. Read more →
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.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.