Current time in Chicago

Central Time, between the two coasts

Chicago keeps Central Standard Time (CST, UTC−6) in winter and Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−5) in summer. It is one hour behind New York and two hours ahead of Los Angeles all year. American broadcasters often announce programmes for both zones at once, as in “8, 7 Central”. Mexico City is also on UTC−6 but no longer changes its clocks, so it matches Chicago in winter and is an hour behind in summer.

Markets that quote Central Time to the world

Clocks go forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November, as in the rest of the United States. Chicago’s futures exchanges, grouped under CME Group, publish their trading hours in Central Time and run almost around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon. Traders in London, Singapore and Tokyo therefore follow Chicago’s clock, including its two changes a year.

The city where the time zones were agreed

In October 1883 the managers of the North American railways met in Chicago at the General Time Convention. They agreed to replace about fifty separate railway times with a handful of zones exactly one hour apart. The plan took effect on 18 November 1883, and Chicago set its own clocks back by just over nine minutes that day. The time zones in use around the world today descend from that meeting.

Chicago: time zone at a glance

Time zone

America/Chicago

Standard time

UTC−6

Daylight saving time

UTC−5

Clock changes in 2026

Sunday, March 8, 2026: forward 1 hour

Sunday, November 1, 2026: back 1 hour

Clock changes in 2027

Sunday, March 14, 2027: forward 1 hour

Sunday, November 7, 2027: back 1 hour

Dates reflect the rules in force when this page was last updated. Governments can change them at short notice.

Plan a meeting in Chicago

Use the actual meeting date. Seasonal clock changes can alter the time difference.

How accurate is this clock?

Our clock follows your device. Enable automatic time in your settings; this site does not independently synchronize with an atomic clock.