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US Time Zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and More

Last updated October 14, 2026 · Written by with AI assistance, fact-checked against official sources.

Quick answer. The 50 states use six time zones: Eastern (UTC−5), Central (UTC−6), Mountain (UTC−7), Pacific (UTC−8), Alaska (UTC−9) and Hawaii–Aleutian (UTC−10). Each moves one hour ahead from March to November, except Hawaii and most of Arizona. New York is three hours ahead of Los Angeles all year, and 14 states are split between two zones.

The United States is wide enough to need six clocks across the 50 states, and a few places opt out of daylight saving time. Those exceptions cause most of the scheduling mistakes.

The main zones

Federal law defines nine standard time zones for the United States and its territories. These six cover the 50 states:

ZoneStandard timeDaylight saving timeExample city
EasternUTC−5UTC−4New York
CentralUTC−6UTC−5Chicago
MountainUTC−7UTC−6Denver
PacificUTC−8UTC−7Los Angeles
AlaskaUTC−9UTC−8Anchorage
Hawaii–AleutianUTC−10UTC−9 (Aleutian Islands only)Honolulu

The territories use their own zones: Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are on Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−4) all year, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are on UTC+10, and American Samoa is on UTC−11.

US time zones in January and JulyHonolulu UTC−10; Anchorage UTC−9 in January, UTC−8 in July; Los Angeles UTC−8 in January, UTC−7 in July; Phoenix UTC−7; Denver UTC−7 in January, UTC−6 in July; Chicago UTC−6 in January, UTC−5 in July; New York UTC−5 in January, UTC−4 in July−10−8−6−4Honolulu−10Anchorage−9 / −8Los Angeles−8 / −7Phoenix−7Denver−7 / −6Chicago−6 / −5New York−5 / −4
The main US zones, west to east. Phoenix and Honolulu keep the same offset all year, so their dots never move. Filled dot: January. Hollow dot: July, drawn only where daylight saving changes the offset.

When the clocks change

The rules below give the same weekday every year. The tables show the actual dates and local clock times, calculated from the time zone database.

2026Clocks go forwardClocks go back
United States and most of CanadaSunday, March 8
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, November 1
02:00 → 01:00
United Kingdom and IrelandSunday, March 29
01:00 → 02:00		Sunday, October 25
02:00 → 01:00
European UnionSunday, March 29
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, October 25
03:00 → 02:00
Southeast AustraliaSunday, October 4
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, April 5
03:00 → 02:00
New ZealandSunday, September 27
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, April 5
03:00 → 02:00
2027Clocks go forwardClocks go back
United States and most of CanadaSunday, March 14
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, November 7
02:00 → 01:00
United Kingdom and IrelandSunday, March 28
01:00 → 02:00		Sunday, October 31
02:00 → 01:00
European UnionSunday, March 28
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, October 31
03:00 → 02:00
Southeast AustraliaSunday, October 3
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, April 4
03:00 → 02:00
New ZealandSunday, September 26
02:00 → 03:00		Sunday, April 4
03:00 → 02:00

Daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. The change happens at the same local time in each zone, so it rolls across the country over three hours rather than all at once.

Places that do not change their clocks

States split between two zones

Fourteen states lie in more than one time zone: Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. Nevada's share is small: only the border city of West Wendover has been on Mountain time officially, since 1999, so many lists count 13. For example, most of Florida is Eastern but the western panhandle is Central, and most of Idaho is Mountain while its northern panhandle is Pacific. Check the city, because the state alone does not tell you the zone. Which US States Have Two Time Zones? shows where each line runs.

Scheduling between the coasts

New York is three hours ahead of Los Angeles all year, because both change their clocks on the same dates. A 09:00–17:00 working day in New York is 06:00–14:00 in Los Angeles, so the shared window is five hours, from 09:00 to 14:00 Pacific time (12:00 to 17:00 Eastern). Many US teams use this as the core meeting window.

When you work with people outside the United States, remember that the US moves its clocks earlier in March and later in November than Europe does. For a few weeks the gap to London or Paris is one hour smaller. Read more in Daylight Saving Time Explained, and see UK and US Time Difference for the best call times between London and each US time zone.

Each US city page has the exact offset and daylight saving dates; search for the city on the World Clock.

Frequently asked questions

How many time zones does the US have?

Six cover the 50 states: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian. With the territories, US law defines nine standard time zones.

What is the time difference between New York and Los Angeles?

Three hours all year. New York is ahead, and both cities change their clocks on the same days.

Is Arizona on Mountain or Pacific time?

Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time all year. Because most of the state skips daylight saving time, it shows the same time as Los Angeles in summer and the same time as Denver in winter. The Navajo Nation does change its clocks.

What is the difference between ET, EST and EDT?

ET (Eastern Time) is the name of the zone. EST (UTC−5) is used in winter and EDT (UTC−4) from March to November. ET is correct all year, so it is the safest choice in an invitation.

Sources

Keep reading

By region

Indiana Time Zone: Which Counties Are on Central Time

Most of Indiana is on Eastern time and 12 counties near Chicago and Evansville are on Central. The county list, a town-by-town table and daylight saving.

Read guide →By region

Arizona Time Zone: Same as California in Summer, Denver in Winter

Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time (UTC−7) all year, so it matches Los Angeles from March to November and Denver in winter. Navajo Nation and call times.

Read guide →