Current Central Time (CST / CDT): key details
Current Central Time
1:47 PM CDT on Thursday, January 15, 2026. UTC−5.
Right now the clock reads CDT, not CST. That matters because half the year it reads the other one.
Is it CST or CDT right now?
CDT. Central Daylight Time. Summer clock.
From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, the zone runs on CDT (UTC−5). The rest of the year it runs on CST (UTC−6). Clocks shift at 2:00 a.m. local on both changeover dates.
When the clocks change next
Sunday 8 March 2026 at 2:00 a.m. Clocks spring forward 60 minutes, from CST to CDT. One hour of sleep gone, more evening light gained.
Sunday 1November 2026 at 2:00 a.m. Clocks fall back 60 minutes, from CDT to CST.
What the live clock is doing
The clock tracks America/Chicago, the IANA zone that anchors most of the US Central region. It flips between CST and CDT on the dates above without anyone touching it. The same zone covers Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and the grain pits at the Chicago Board of Trade.
Central Time against other cities
On 15 January 2026, while the zone is on CST:
- New York: 1 hour ahead
- Los Angeles: 2 hours behind
- London: 6 hours ahead
- Paris: 7 hours ahead
- Dubai: 10 hours ahead
- Mumbai: 11.5 hours ahead
- Singapore: 14 hours ahead
- Tokyo: 15 hours ahead
- Sydney: 17 hours ahead
- Johannesburg: 8 hours ahead
- São Paulo: 3 hours ahead
On 15 July 2026, while the zone is on CDT, Dubai shortens to 9 hours ahead, Mumbai to 10.5, Singapore to 13, Tokyo to 14, Sydney to 15, Johannesburg to 7, and São Paulo to 2. New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris stay the same gap.
One hour behind. Noon in New York is 11:00 a.m. in Chicago. The New York Stock Exchange opens at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, which is 8:30 a.m. Central. Cross-zone business calls work best between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. CT, catching both coasts.
8/7c means Central
8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Central. That dual listing exists because Central is the prime-time anchor for most of the Midwest and South. Live events (Super Bowl, Oscars, election night) start at 7:00 p.m. CT while the East Coast gets 8:00 p.m.
Is Central Time the same everywhere?
No.
Mexico City (America/Mexico_City) sits on permanent CST: UTC−6 year-round. It abolished DST nationally in October 2022. That means Mexico City and Chicago share a clock from November through March but diverge by one hour from March through November.
Northern border municipalities (Matamoros, Ojinaga) still follow the US DST schedule, so Matamoros and Brownsville stay in lockstep all year.
Saskatchewan (America/Regina) also runs UTC−6 year-round. Regina matches Chicago in winter, sits one hour behind in summer.
Central Time in business and trading
Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade run on CT. Federal Reserve wire transfers (Fedwire) close at 6:00 p.m. ET, which is 5:00 p.m. CT. ACH cutoffs typically land between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. CT; check your institution.
Office core hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. Schools mostly run 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In the weeks after the March spring-forward, children walk to school or wait for buses in darkness.
One zone, two names
Central Time (CT) is the safe umbrella. Central Standard Time means the winter clock specifically (UTC−6). Central Daylight Time means the summer clock (UTC−5). Many people write "CST" year-round out of habit; a meeting invitation that says "6 p.m. CST" in July is technically wrong but widely understood. In international contexts, spell out the offset: CST also stands for China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5).
Mexico City: the zone's largest city
Population 12,294,193. National capital. Elevation 2,240 m. On the March equinox (20 March 2026): sunrise 06:41, sunset 18:47, 12 h 6 min of daylight. June solstice (21 June 2026): sunrise 05:58, sunset 19:16, 13 h 18 min. September equinox (22 September 2026): sunrise 06:24, sunset 18:33, 12 h 9 min. December solstice (21 December 2026): sunrise 07:05, sunset 18:03, 10 h 57 min. All times local, fixed CST.
Other large cities on this zone
Chicago, US: 2,664,452. Houston, US: 2,314,157. Iztapalapa, MX: 1,835,486. Puebla, MX: 1,692,181. Ecatepec de Morelos, MX: 1,645,352. Santiago de Querétaro, MX: 1,594,212. León de los Aldama, MX: 1,579,803. San Antonio, US: 1,526,656. Zapopan, MX: 1,476,491. Guadalajara, MX: 1,385,629. Dallas, US: 1,326,087. Mérida, MX: 1,201,000 (America/Merida). Gustavo Adolfo Madero, MX: 1,185,772. Monterrey, MX: 1,135,512 (America/Monterrey).
What the zone covers
Twenty-five IANA zones use the America_Central CLDR metazone. They include America/Chicago, America/Mexico_City, America/Winnipeg, America/Regina, America/Monterrey, America/Guatemala, America/Belize, America/Tegucigalpa, America/Managua, America/El_Salvador, America/Costa_Rica, America/Merida, America/Matamoros, America/Ojinaga, America/Chihuahua, America/Bahia_Banderas, America/Indiana/Knox, America/Indiana/Tell_City, America/Menominee, America/North_Dakota/Beulah, America/North_Dakota/Center, America/North_Dakota/New_Salem, America/Rankin_Inlet, America/Resolute, and America/Swift_Current.
How the zone got here
Before 1883, US cities ran on 300-plus local solar times. On 18 November 1883, railroads imposed four standard time zones; Central sat at 90° west of Greenwich (UTC−6 base). The 1918 Standard Time Act made those zones federal law and introduced the first national daylight saving time (repealed 1919). From 1942 to 1945, year-round "War Time" kept Central at UTC−5 continuously. The 1966 Uniform Time Act set consistent DST rules and let states opt out. The current schedule (second Sunday March to first Sunday November) took effect in 2007 under the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
Will daylight saving become permanent?
The Sunshine Protection Act would lock Central Time at permanent UTC−5 (current CDT), ending clock changes. The Senate passed it in 2022; it stalled in the House and has been reintroduced since. As of early 2026, no final law has passed. Opposition centres on dark winter mornings for schoolchildren, especially near the zone's western edge. States can adopt permanent standard time (UTC−6) without Congressional action; permanent DST requires Congress to authorise it.