The fair place to meet is Dallas-Fort Worth, TX — the city closest to the midpoint of Houston and Kansas City. From the farther side that’s about 9 hr 31 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
From Houston
4 hr 43 min
225 mi to Dallas
From Kansas City
9 hr 31 min
454 mi to Dallas
Houston has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 4 hr 48 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Houston and Kansas City are about 647 miles apart.
Houston and Kansas City are about 647 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Dallas, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 4 hr 43 min of driving on the Houston side and 9 hr 31 min on the Kansas City side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Dallas suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Dallas doesn't have what you're after, Oklahoma City and Memphis are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Houston and Kansas City.
Dallas is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in the state's northern region, it is the ninth-most populous city in the United States and third-most populous city in Texas, with a population of 1.3 million at the 2020 census. Read more →
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 →
Kansas City, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by both population and area. It is located on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River, within Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties. 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.