CST and CDT: Central Time

Central Time now (Chicago)

05:50:00

Saturday 17 October 2026

CDT (UTC−5) · America/Chicago

Time when this page was generated: 10:50 UTC on 17 October 2026. It updates to the live time when the page loads.

Currently on CDT (UTC−5). Next clock change: Sunday 1 November 2026 at 02:00, when clocks go back to CST (UTC−6).

In North America, CST (Central Standard Time) is UTC−6. CDT (Central Daylight Time) is UTC−5 and is used in the US and parts of Canada from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. The clock above shows Chicago's actual time and the label in force today.

CST or CDT? Dates for 2026 to 2028

Sunday 8 March 2026: at 02:00 clocks go forward to 03:00. CST (UTC−6) becomes CDT (UTC−5), and the hour in between is skipped.
Sunday 1 November 2026: at 02:00 clocks go back to 01:00. CDT (UTC−5) becomes CST (UTC−6), and the hour from 01:00 happens twice.
Sunday 14 March 2027: at 02:00 clocks go forward to 03:00. CST (UTC−6) becomes CDT (UTC−5), and the hour in between is skipped.
Sunday 7 November 2027: at 02:00 clocks go back to 01:00. CDT (UTC−5) becomes CST (UTC−6), and the hour from 01:00 happens twice.
Sunday 12 March 2028: at 02:00 clocks go forward to 03:00. CST (UTC−6) becomes CDT (UTC−5), and the hour in between is skipped.
Sunday 5 November 2028: at 02:00 clocks go back to 01:00. CDT (UTC−5) becomes CST (UTC−6), and the hour from 01:00 happens twice.

Where Central Time is used

In the US: Illinois, Texas (most of it), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee (central and western parts), Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Kansas (most of it) and parts of several other states. In Canada: Manitoba and parts of Ontario.

Several places use UTC−6 all year, so CST applies to them even in summer. They include most of Saskatchewan, most of Mexico (including Mexico City, since Mexico ended daylight saving time in 2022) and Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. From November 2026 the time zone database also labels Alberta CST, after the province moved to permanent UTC−6. In summer, all these places are one hour behind Chicago.

CST can mean three different things

"CST" is also the usual abbreviation for China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5). A time written as "CST" in a message from Shanghai is 14 hours ahead of one written in Chicago in winter. When it matters, use the city or the UTC offset.