Time zone in Chicago
Chicago is on Central Standard Time (CST, UTC-6) in winter and switches to Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC-5) in summer. Its identifier in the international time zone database is America/Chicago: it is what your phone and computer use to show the right time there.
Clock changes in Chicago:
- 2026: forward 1 h on Sunday, March 8, 2026 (2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM), then back 1 h on Sunday, November 1, 2026 (2:00 AM becomes 1:00 AM).
- 2027: forward 1 h on Sunday, March 14, 2027 (2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM), then back 1 h on Sunday, November 7, 2027 (2:00 AM becomes 1:00 AM).
Chicago follows the North American rule: clocks go forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November, at 2:00 AM local time.
Chicago shares its time with Houston and Dallas.
Chicago is 955 km from Washington, D.C., the capital.
By the sun, noon in Chicago falls at about 11:51 AM in winter and 12:51 PM in summer (on average over the year). The city lies at 87.63° west, and every degree of longitude shifts the sun by 4 minutes. Clock time is close to sun time here. See the sunrise and sunset times in Chicago.
Time difference with major cities
When it is 12:00 PM (noon) in Chicago, it is:
| City | January | July |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 1:00 PM | 1:00 PM |
| Los Angeles | 10:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| London | 6:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
| Paris | 7:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| Tokyo | 3:00 AM, next day | 2:00 AM, next day |
| Sydney | 5:00 AM, next day | 3:00 AM, next day |
The gap with Tokyo changes by one hour during the year, because Chicago changes its clocks and this city does not. With Sydney, the gap is not the same in January and July: the clocks change at other times of the year there. With London and Paris, the gap is the same in January and July but one hour different for 21 days a year, because the clocks do not change on the same dates.
Best time to call Chicago from New York
To reach someone at work in Chicago from New York, the best window is from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM in New York, which is 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in Chicago.
For any other city, use the time zone converter or add it to the world clock.