US Time Zones Explained
The continental United States spans four time zones, and two more cover Alaska and Hawaii, for a total of six across the 50 states. Knowing how they fit together is essential for scheduling a call, catching a flight, watching a live broadcast, or simply figuring out whether it is morning or evening on the other coast. This page lays out all six zones, the cities and states in each, UTC offsets in winter and summer, the Daylight Saving Time rules, and the time difference with France and Europe.
Live clock
Current local time in four major US cities, updated every second.
The six time zones
Moving from east to west, the clock falls back one hour at each zone boundary. Here they are, in order:
Eastern Time (ET)
The most populated zone. It covers the entire Atlantic seaboard and the eastern Midwest: New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami. States include Florida (most), Georgia, Ohio, Michigan (most), New York and Virginia. It is the reference clock for Wall Street and US financial markets.
Central Time (CT)
One hour behind Eastern. It covers the heartland: Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Memphis, Minneapolis. Typical states: Texas (most), Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama and Mississippi.
Mountain Time (MT)
Two hours behind Eastern. It follows the Rocky Mountains: Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, and all of Arizona. States: Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, southern Idaho and Arizona, which has the special status explained below.
Pacific Time (PT)
Three hours behind Eastern. It covers the entire West Coast: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas. States: California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada. This is the clock of Hollywood studios and Silicon Valley.
Alaska Time (AKT)
Four hours behind Eastern. It covers nearly all of Alaska, including Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks.
Hawaii–Aleutian Time (HAT)
The westernmost zone, usually five hours behind Eastern. It covers Hawaii (Honolulu) and the far end of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Hawaii does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
UTC offset table
Each zone has two values: Standard Time (winter) and Daylight Saving Time (summer), which is one hour ahead.
| Zone | Standard (winter) | Summer (DST) | Anchor city |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | UTC−5 (EST) | UTC−4 (EDT) | New York |
| Central (CT) | UTC−6 (CST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | Chicago |
| Mountain (MT) | UTC−7 (MST) | UTC−6 (MDT) | Denver |
| Pacific (PT) | UTC−8 (PST) | UTC−7 (PDT) | Los Angeles |
| Alaska (AKT) | UTC−9 (AKST) | UTC−8 (AKDT) | Anchorage |
| Hawaii–Aleutian (HAT) | UTC−10 (HST) | UTC−10 (no DST in Hawaii) | Honolulu |
Daylight Saving Time
Most of the United States moves its clocks forward one hour in spring and back in autumn. The dates are set federally:
- Start ("spring forward"): the 2nd Sunday in March, at 2:00 a.m. You lose one hour.
- End ("fall back"): the 1st Sunday in November, at 2:00 a.m. You gain one hour.
These dates do not line up with the European Union (last Sunday in March and October). For two to three weeks a year, the usual time difference between the US and Europe is therefore temporarily shifted by one hour.
Two places do not observe Daylight Saving Time and stay on standard time all year: Arizona (except the Navajo Nation, which does observe it) and Hawaii. Territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam do not observe it either.
Time difference with France and Europe
France (Paris time, UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer) is well ahead of the United States. When both continents are on summer time, the usual differences are:
- New York (Eastern): 6 hours behind Paris.
- Chicago (Central): 7 hours behind.
- Denver (Mountain): 8 hours behind.
- Los Angeles (Pacific): 9 hours behind.
- Honolulu (Hawaii): 12 hours behind (summer) to 11 hours (winter).
In practice, when it is noon in Paris in summer, it is 6:00 a.m. in New York and 3:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. The most workable window for a transatlantic call is early afternoon in Europe, which lands in the morning on the US East Coast.
To explore the states and their capitals, see our states, capitals and abbreviations tool and our US geography and regions guide. Planning a road trip? The miles ↔ kilometers converter will come in handy.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does the US have?
Six main zones cover the 50 states: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian. Counting the territories (Guam, American Samoa, and others), the country actually stretches across even more zones.
Does Arizona change its clocks?
No. Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC−7) all year and does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The one exception is the Navajo Nation in the northeast of the state, which does observe it. Hawaii does not change its clocks either.
What is the time difference between Paris and New York?
Six hours as a rule: when it is 6:00 p.m. in Paris, it is noon in New York. This can briefly become 5 or 7 hours during the few weeks when the US and European clock changes are out of sync.
Why doesn't a show listed "8pm ET" start at the same time everywhere?
Because the same "ET" (Eastern) time equals 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain and 5 p.m. Pacific. Networks often write "8pm ET / 5pm PT" to remove the ambiguity.
When does the US change its clocks?
Clocks spring forward on the 2nd Sunday in March and fall back on the 1st Sunday in November, both at 2:00 a.m. local time.
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