Chicago to Houston distance

Chicago to Houston by road

The fastest driving route is 1,085 miles (1,746 km) long and takes about 19 hr 50 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-57 (380 mi), US 59 (231 mi), and I-30 (141 mi).

It goes through 4 states: Illinois (369 mi), Missouri (88.6 mi), Arkansas (331 mi), and Texas (297 mi). That’s an average of 55 mph (88 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 9 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 22 hr 50 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 3-day drive. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Chicago and Houston are 938 miles (1,510 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 16% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 116. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 US pairs in this series, it ranks 16th for detour (the average is 14%).

From Chicago, Houston lies to the southwest (bearing 210°), and from Houston, Chicago lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches Houston on a bearing of 205°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Chicago and Houston

Halfway along the straight line, 469 miles (755 km) from each city, is the point 35.8713° N, 91.8004° W. It falls near Cushman (Arkansas, pop. 447), 1.3 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 543 miles (873 km) from each city, near Jennette (Arkansas, pop. 113), 7.2 mi away. The two midpoints are 87.9 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

Chicago and Houston share the same time all year: both are on Central Time.

A direct flight would take about 2 hr 25 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 1,510 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Chicago sits at 588 ft (179 m) and Houston at 36 ft (11 m), 552 ft (168 m) lower.

Chicago has 2.7 million people and Houston 2.4 million people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025).