US Time Zones Explained: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific and More
Published 2026-10-29
The United States spans six time zones in the 50 states, plus more in its territories. If you are scheduling a call between New York and Los Angeles, booking a flight or watching a live event, it helps to know how they fit together. You can convert any time instantly with the time zone converter.
The six US time zones
| Zone | Winter (standard) | Summer (daylight) | Largest cities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | EST, UTC−5 | EDT, UTC−4 | New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Boston |
| Central | CST, UTC−6 | CDT, UTC−5 | Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Nashville |
| Mountain | MST, UTC−7 | MDT, UTC−6 | Denver, El Paso, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City |
| Pacific | PST, UTC−8 | PDT, UTC−7 | Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas |
| Alaska | AKST, UTC−9 | AKDT, UTC−8 | Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau |
| Hawaii-Aleutian | HST, UTC−10 | Hawaii doesn’t change | Honolulu |
US territories add more: Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands use Atlantic Time (UTC−4), Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands use Chamorro Time (UTC+10), and American Samoa uses Samoa Time (UTC−11). None of them use daylight saving time.
Quick conversion table
When it is this time in the Eastern zone, it is:
| Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific | Alaska | Hawaii (winter) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | 8:00 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. |
| 12:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | 8:00 a.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| 6:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 1:00 p.m. |
| 9:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. |
From March to November, while the mainland is on daylight time but Hawaii isn’t, Hawaii is one hour further behind: 9:00 a.m. Eastern is 3:00 a.m. in Honolulu.
States split between two time zones
Time zone lines follow county borders rather than state lines, so 13 states are divided:
- Eastern and Central: Florida (the western Panhandle is Central), Indiana (a few counties near Chicago and Evansville are Central), Kentucky (the western half is Central), Michigan (four Upper Peninsula counties bordering Wisconsin are Central) and Tennessee (East Tennessee is Eastern; Nashville and Memphis are Central).
- Central and Mountain: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota (their western parts are Mountain) and Texas (El Paso and Hudspeth counties are Mountain).
- Mountain and Pacific: Idaho (the northern Panhandle is Pacific) and Oregon (most of Malheur County is Mountain).
- Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian: Alaska (the western Aleutian Islands use Hawaii-Aleutian time).
Daylight saving time and Arizona
Most of the US moves its clocks forward one hour on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November. In 2026 the clocks fall back on November 1, and in 2027 they spring forward on March 14. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year, so Phoenix shares the same clock time as Los Angeles in summer and as Denver in winter. The Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona does observe daylight saving time. More detail is in our guide to when daylight saving time ends.
Tips for scheduling across time zones
- Always write the zone in invitations: “2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT”.
- Write “ET” or “PT” rather than EST or PST if you don’t want to worry about which half of the year it is.
- Coast-to-coast sweet spot: 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern falls between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Pacific, inside working hours for both coasts.
- Check the date of international calls around March and late October, when the US and Europe change their clocks on different weekends.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does the US have?
Six across the 50 states (Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian), and nine counting the territories.
What time zone is Texas in?
Almost all of Texas is in the Central zone. El Paso and Hudspeth counties in the far west are in the Mountain zone.
Is Arizona on Pacific or Mountain time?
Arizona is in the Mountain zone but doesn’t use daylight saving time, so in summer its clocks match Pacific Daylight Time.