Central Time Now

You need to keep in mind that this time zone is an identifier for a time offset that is 6 hours behind the UTC time zone.

This time pattern is maintained using highly accurate atomic clocks matched to the Earth's rotation.

In this section, you will learn key facts about this time zone and stay well informed.

Please be aware that Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not used in Central Time zone.

During the summer, clocks go forward one hour to the UTC-5 offset and Central Daylight Time is used.


About This Time Pattern

Central Time zone is a time offset that subtracts 6 hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

In the map above we highlight the entire region covered by this time zone.

Its main cities and territories are:

In the map above we highlight the entire region covered by the time zone.

This time offset is also observed during standard time and daylight saving time for various geographic regions.

You need to be very careful finding these time zones that may have different names and abbreviations, but have the same UTC offset:

This time zone is used in the following countries:

In the Ecuador, this time zone is present in the territory of Galápagos Islands.

In the Chile, this time zone is present in the territories of Easter Island and Salas y Gómez Island.

In Canada, this time zone is present in the provinces and territories of Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

In the Mexico, this time zone is present in the territories of Aguascalientes, Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, State of Mexico, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas.

Most of Mexico lies in the CT Time Zone, except for six northwestern states: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, Nayarit and Quintana Roo.

In the United States, this time zone is present in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.