Nashville · the midpoint
Nashville is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, located on the Cumberland River. Read more →
Meet halfway between Columbus and New Orleans
The fair place to meet is Nashville, TN — the city closest to the midpoint of Columbus and New Orleans. From the farther side that’s about 9 hr 51 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Nashville, TN
From Columbus
6 hr 59 min
333 mi to Nashville
From New Orleans
9 hr 51 min
469 mi to Nashville
Columbus has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 2 hr 52 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Columbus and New Orleans are about 799 miles apart.
More meetups from Columbus
Meeting in Nashville
Columbus and New Orleans are about 799 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Nashville, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 6 hr 59 min of driving on the Columbus side and 9 hr 51 min on the New Orleans side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Nashville suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Nashville doesn't have what you're after, Birmingham and Atlanta are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Columbus and New Orleans.
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 →
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 Columbus and New Orleans?
- Nashville, TN is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 799 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 9 hr 51 min from the farther city to Nashville.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.