Most North American time zones also have generic terms, including Pacific Time (PT), Mountain Time (MT), Eastern Time (ET), and Atlantic Time (AT). This can add a bit of confusion as the term Eastern Time does not differentiate between standard time and Daylight Saving Time, so Central Time switches between CST and CDT in areas that use DST during part of the year. In everyday usage, CST is often referred to as Central Time (CT) or the Central Time Zone. Central Daylight Time (CDT) is used during the remainder of the year. Central Standard Time ZoneĬentral Standard Time (CST) is a standard time zone in use from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March-when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not in effect. In North America, Central Standard Time shares a border with Eastern Standard Time (EST) in the east and with Mountain Standard Time (MST) in the west. It spans from northern Canada and all the way south to Costa Rica near the Equator. It is also used in Mexico and Central America.Ībout a third of the population in the USA live in the CST time zone. It covers all or parts of 20 states in the US and three provinces or territories in Canada.
See full time zone map What Is Central Standard Time?Ĭentral Standard Time is the second easternmost time zone in the United States and the third easternmost in Canada. This time zone is in use during standard time in: North America, Central America. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays)Ĭurrently observing CST – Central Standard Time.Ĭurrently has same time zone offset as CST (UTC -6) but different time zone name.Ĭentral Standard Time (CST) is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).The military designation for this time zone is "R" which is short for "Romeo. With a population of over 8 million people, this is one of the most well-known and important cities in the world. Perhaps the most notable city in this zone is New York City in the United States. The following countries are within this time zone: Bahamas, Canada, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and of course the United States. The eastern portion of the United States uses it, along with EDT during the summer months which is subsequently written as UTC: -4:00. This zone is five hours behind from Universal Coordinated Time. Other major cities of note in this region are Chicago, Houston, and the ancient cities of Iztapalapa and Ecatepec. This zone includes major cities such as Mexico City with a population of 12 million people. The military uses this time zone and designates it with an "S" which stands for "Sierra." it is used in the following countries: Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, and the United States. This zone is 6 hours behind Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) and is written as UTC -6:00. Let's examine each time zone in more detail: During DST, both of these time zones are in different slots: Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and Central Daylight Time (CDT) respectively. Always add one hour to the Central time to convert to the Eastern one.īoth of these locations observe Daylight Saving Time, therefore there is a period of each year from March until November where the clocks are moved forward an hour. If it's 5:00 P.M in the CST zone, then it is 6:00 P.M in the EST zone. The Eastern zone is one hour ahead of the Central zone. When converting between these two zones, it's best to remember that these two time zones are adjacent to one another, meaning they are exactly an hour off from each other.
Also, tables are available for easy reference to various conversions as you see fit. In this case we're talking about converting Central Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time.īeyond this convenient tool, we also have live clocks for both of these areas that adjust for factors like Daylight Saving Time. Welcome to the most comprehensive time-focused website on the internet! On this page you will find a converter that can show you the difference between two specific time zones.