US Time Zones: A Complete Guide to All Six Zones
By Global Tools Research · Published August 3, 2026
The continental United States spans four time zones, with two more for Alaska and Hawaii — six in total. Here is each one, its standard UTC offset, and whether it changes for daylight saving time (DST).
The Six US Time Zones
| Zone | Standard | Daylight (DST) | Example city |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | UTC−5 | UTC−4 | New York |
| Central (CT) | UTC−6 | UTC−5 | Chicago |
| Mountain (MT) | UTC−7 | UTC−6 | Denver |
| Pacific (PT) | UTC−8 | UTC−7 | Los Angeles |
| Alaska (AKT) | UTC−9 | UTC−8 | Anchorage |
| Hawaii (HST) | UTC−10 | — | Honolulu |
Daylight Saving Time
Most of the country moves clocks forward one hour in spring and back in autumn. Two notable exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe DST, so their offset stays the same all year.
Coast to Coast
When it is noon in New York (Eastern), it is 9 a.m. in Los Angeles (Pacific) — a three-hour difference across the mainland. Add Hawaii and the spread reaches five hours.
Look up the current time and zone for any city with the Time Zone Finder, or convert a time between zones with the Time Zone Converter.