Time Zones in United States
United States spans 6 different time zones among the 20 cities tracked on Live Time Map. Some of them observe daylight saving time and some don't, so the gap between them can shift by an hour during the year. See the live local time for each city below, or use the interactive map to compare any of them against your own location.
United States facts
- Currency
- US dollar (USD)
- Languages
- English
- Calling code
- +1
- Time zones on this site
- 6
How far apart United States' own clocks are
In standard time, Atlanta (UTC-5) runs 5 hours ahead of Honolulu (UTC-10). A call scheduled for the start of the working day at one end lands well into the afternoon, or well before breakfast, at the other.
Clock time and solar time in United States
A country's clocks are a political choice, not an astronomical one, so they rarely line up with its own sun. Measured against local solar time, the clock in Anchorage runs 1 hour ahead of the sun, while in Las Vegas it runs 19 minutes behind the sun.
That is a spread of 1 hour 19 minutes between the two ends of United States' tracked cities, all of it the result of longitude rather than of the clock. The wider that gap, the more one shared office schedule means genuinely different amounts of morning light depending on where you are.
How much daylight changes through the year
Daylight is governed by latitude, not by the clock. Anchorage, at 61.2° north, gets 19 hours 22 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year and 5 hours 27 minutes on the shortest.
Honolulu, at 21.3° north, gets 13 hours 26 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year and 10 hours 50 minutes on the shortest. So the annual swing between longest and shortest day is 13 hours 56 minutes in Anchorage against 2 hours 36 minutes in Honolulu, within the same country.
Cities in United States
- Anchorage
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Honolulu
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington, D.C.
Want to compare a city here against your own location? Open the interactive world time zone map to pin it live.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does United States have?
Among the 20 cities tracked here, United States spans 6 different time zones. See the list below for each city's own offset.
Does United States observe daylight saving time?
It depends on the city: some of the cities tracked here observe daylight saving time and some don't.
Do clocks in United States match the sun?
Clocks and the sun are not the same thing. In Anchorage the clock runs 1 hour ahead of local solar time, so midday on the clock is not the moment the sun is highest.
How much does daylight change through the year in United States?
In Anchorage, the longest day of the year has 19 hours 22 minutes of daylight and the shortest has 5 hours 27 minutes.
What is the time difference within United States?
In standard time, Atlanta is 5 hours ahead of Honolulu.