Time Zones| Zone areas | Time now | January 2026 | July 2026 | Largest cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adak | --:-- | UTC−10 | UTC−9 | no large city |
| Honolulu | --:-- | UTC−10 | UTC−10 | Honolulu, East Honolulu, Pearl City, Makakilo / Kapolei / Honokai Hale |
| Anchorage, Juneau, Metlakatla, Nome, Sitka, Yakutat | --:-- | UTC−9 | UTC−8 | Anchorage, Fairbanks, Eagle River, Badger |
| Los Angeles | --:-- | UTC−8 | UTC−7 | Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco |
| Denver, Boise | --:-- | UTC−7 | UTC−6 | Denver, El Paso, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs |
| Phoenix | --:-- | UTC−7 | UTC−7 | Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler |
| Chicago, New Salem, Knox, Tell City, Menominee, Beulah and 1 more | --:-- | UTC−6 | UTC−5 | Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas |
| New York, Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Vincennes, Marengo and 4 more | --:-- | UTC−5 | UTC−4 | New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, Philadelphia |
How many times does the United States have?
The IANA database lists 29 separate zone areas for the United States. Grouped by the time they actually show through 2026, that makes 8 different clocks, listed above. The offsets in use run from UTC−10 to UTC−5 in January.
27 of the 29 areas change their clocks during the year. Open an area to see its dates.
Planning across the country
When you fix a call or a broadcast for people in several parts of the United States, give the time with its zone, or use the converter to show every zone at once.
Where most people are
Measured by the people living in towns of 15,000 or more (GeoNames figures), the busiest clock in the United States is the one kept in New York City, UTC−5 in January: about 89 million people, or 44% of the total across all the zone areas. Next comes the clock of Chicago (UTC−6) with about 52 million. At the other end, 2 of the 8 clocks each cover less than 1% of those people.
A worked example
When it is 9:00 am in New York City in January, it is 4:00 am in Honolulu, 4:00 am in Adak, 5:00 am in Anchorage, 6:00 am in Los Angeles, 7:00 am in Denver, 7:00 am in Phoenix, 8:00 am in Chicago.
A worked example for July
When it is 9:00 am in New York City in July, it is 3:00 am in Honolulu, 4:00 am in Adak, 5:00 am in Anchorage, 6:00 am in Los Angeles, 6:00 am in Phoenix, 7:00 am in Denver, 8:00 am in Chicago.
The widest gap inside the country
The two clocks that are farthest apart differ by 5 hours in January and by 6 hours in July, because not every part moves its clocks. On the map, the main cities run from Honolulu at about 157.9° west to New York City at about 74° west. By the sun alone those two are about 5 hours 35 minutes apart.
The sun across the United States
Clocks are set by law, but the sun keeps its own time. In Honolulu, the most westerly of the main cities (about 157.9° west), the sun is highest at about 12:31 pm by the clock in January. In New York City, the most easterly (about 74° west), it is highest at about 11:56 am. The closer that figure is to 12:00, the better the clock fits the daylight in that city. From north to south the length of the day differs too: around 21 June the sun is up for about 19 hours 22 minutes in Anchorage and about 13 hours 26 minutes in Honolulu.
United States and the rest of the world
When it is 12:00 noon in New York City, it is 10:30 pm in India in January and 9:30 pm in July; 5:00 pm in London. Other parts of the United States are earlier or later than that by the amounts in the table at the top of this page.
Clock changes in 2026
In New York the dates are: Sunday 8 March 2026: at 2:00 am clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 am; Sunday 1 November 2026: at 2:00 am clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 am. These areas do not move their clocks at all: Phoenix, Honolulu. So the time difference between them and the rest of the country changes twice a year.