Louisville · the midpoint
Louisville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. Read more →
Meet halfway between Columbus and Memphis
The fair place to meet is Louisville, KY — the city closest to the midpoint of Columbus and Memphis. From the farther side that’s about 6 hr 43 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Louisville, KY
From Columbus
3 hr 58 min
189 mi to Louisville
From Memphis
6 hr 43 min
320 mi to Louisville
Columbus has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 2 hr 45 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Columbus and Memphis are about 509 miles apart.
More meetups from Columbus
Meeting in Louisville
Columbus and Memphis are about 509 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Louisville, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 3 hr 58 min of driving on the Columbus side and 6 hr 43 min on the Memphis side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Louisville suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Louisville doesn't have what you're after, Nashville and Cincinnati are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Columbus and Memphis.
About the cities
Columbus
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 →
Memphis
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Columbus and Memphis?
- Louisville, KY is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 509 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 6 hr 43 min from the farther city to Louisville.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.