Birmingham · the midpoint
Birmingham is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the third-most populous city in the state, with an estimated population of 196,357 as of 2024. Read more →
Meet halfway between Houston and Richmond
The fair place to meet is Birmingham, AL — the city closest to the midpoint of Houston and Richmond. From the farther side that’s about 12 hr 29 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Birmingham, AL
From Houston
11 hr 52 min
566 mi to Birmingham
From Richmond
12 hr 29 min
595 mi to Birmingham
Houston has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 37 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Houston and Richmond are about 1,160 miles apart.
More meetups from Houston
Meeting in Birmingham
Houston and Richmond are about 1,160 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Birmingham, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 11 hr 52 min of driving on the Houston side and 12 hr 29 min on the Richmond 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. Birmingham still makes a fair, central place for Houston and Richmond to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Birmingham doesn't have what you're after, Atlanta and Nashville are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Houston and Richmond.
About the cities
Houston
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 →
Richmond
Richmond is the capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city since 1871. It is the fourth-most populous city in Virginia, with a population of 226,610 at the 2020 census. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Questions
- Where is the halfway point between Houston and Richmond?
- Birmingham, AL is closest to the geographic midpoint, which makes it the fairest place to meet.
- How far apart are they?
- About 1,160 miles by road.
- How long is the drive to meet in the middle?
- Roughly 12 hr 29 min from the farther city to Birmingham.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.