Omaha · the midpoint
Omaha is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Read more →
The fair place to meet is Omaha, NE — the city closest to the midpoint of Portland and Richmond. From the farther side that’s about 28 hr 41 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Omaha, NE
From Portland
28 hr 41 min
1,368 mi to Omaha
From Richmond
21 hr 21 min
1,018 mi to Omaha
Richmond has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 7 hr 20 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Portland and Richmond are about 2,371 miles apart.
Portland and Richmond are about 2,371 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Omaha, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 28 hr 41 min of driving on the Portland side and 21 hr 21 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. Omaha still makes a fair, central place for Portland and Richmond to converge, splitting the travel instead of asking one side to cross the country.
If Omaha doesn't have what you're after, Denver and Kansas City are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Portland and Richmond.
Omaha is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Read more →
Portland is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in the Pacific Northwest at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, it is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and… Read more →
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.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.