The fair place to meet is Detroit, MI — the city closest to the midpoint of Hartford and Minneapolis. From the farther side that’s about 11 hr 22 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Detroit, MI
From Hartford
11 hr 11 min
533 mi to Detroit
From Minneapolis
11 hr 22 min
542 mi to Detroit
That’s an even split — both sides drive within 11 min of each other. Hartford and Minneapolis are about 1,055 miles apart.
Hartford and Minneapolis are about 1,055 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Detroit, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That splits the trip almost evenly — about 11 hr 11 min from Hartford and 11 hr 22 min from Minneapolis.
Over this distance most people will fly rather than drive the whole way. Detroit still makes a fair, central place for Hartford and Minneapolis to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Detroit doesn't have what you're after, Cleveland and Buffalo are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Hartford and Minneapolis.
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 →
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 at the 2020 census and was estimated at 124,006 in 2025. Read more →
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 census, it is the state's most populous city. 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.