Houston · the midpoint
Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census. Read more →
Meet halfway between El Paso and Tampa
The fair place to meet is Houston, TX — the city closest to the midpoint of El Paso and Tampa. From the farther side that’s about 16 hr 35 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Houston, TX
From El Paso
14 hr 8 min
674 mi to Houston
From Tampa
16 hr 35 min
791 mi to Houston
El Paso has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 2 hr 27 min. The alternatives below can even it out. El Paso and Tampa are about 1,461 miles apart.
More meetups from El Paso
Meeting in Houston
El Paso and Tampa are about 1,461 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Houston, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 14 hr 8 min of driving on the El Paso side and 16 hr 35 min on the Tampa 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. Houston still makes a fair, central place for El Paso and Tampa to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Houston doesn't have what you're after, Austin and San Antonio are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between El Paso and Tampa.
About the cities
El Paso
El Paso is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the 22nd-most populous city in the U.S., sixth-most populous city in Texas, and the most populous city in West Texas with a population of 678,815 at the 2020 census. Read more →
Tampa
Tampa is a major city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Hillsborough County. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between El Paso and Tampa?
- Houston, TX is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 1,461 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 16 hr 35 min from the farther city to Houston.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.