Atlanta · the midpoint
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. Read more →
The fair place to meet is Atlanta, GA — the city closest to the midpoint of New Orleans and Raleigh. From the farther side that’s about 8 hr 54 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Atlanta, GA
From New Orleans
8 hr 54 min
424 mi to Atlanta
From Raleigh
7 hr 27 min
355 mi to Atlanta
Raleigh has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 1 hr 27 min. The alternatives below can even it out. New Orleans and Raleigh are about 775 miles apart.
New Orleans and Raleigh are about 775 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Atlanta, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 8 hr 54 min of driving on the New Orleans side and 7 hr 27 min on the Raleigh side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Atlanta suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Atlanta doesn't have what you're after, Birmingham and Charlotte are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between New Orleans and Raleigh.
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. Read more →
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Read more →
Raleigh is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the second-most populous city in the state, tenth most populous city in the Southeast, the largest city in the Research Triangle area, and the 39th-most populous city in the U.S. 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.