The fair place to meet is Chicago, IL — the city closest to the midpoint of Detroit and Milwaukee. From the farther side that’s about 4 hr 58 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Chicago, IL
From Detroit
4 hr 58 min
237 mi to Chicago
From Milwaukee
2 hr 2 min
81 mi to Chicago
Milwaukee has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 2 hr 56 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Detroit and Milwaukee are about 252 miles apart.
Detroit and Milwaukee are about 252 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Chicago, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 4 hr 58 min of driving on the Detroit side and 2 hr 2 min on the Milwaukee side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
At this range, Chicago works for a same-day meetup: close enough from both Detroit and Milwaukee to meet for lunch or an afternoon and still be home by evening.
If Chicago doesn't have what you're after, Indianapolis and Cleveland are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Detroit and Milwaukee.
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 →
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 →
Milwaukee is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan at the confluence of the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers. 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.