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Central Time (CT)

Also known as: Central Standard Time (CST) and Central Daylight Time (CDT)

Time zone map of CDT
Currently observing CDT.
Areas with same time currently (UTC -5).
Currently observing CDT – Central Daylight Time.
Currently has same time zone offset as CDT (UTC -5) but different time zone name.

The term Central Time (CT) is often used to denote the local time in areas observing either Central Daylight Time (CDT) or Central Standard Time (CST).

In other words, in locations observing Daylight Saving Time (DST) during part of the year, Central Time is not static but switches between CDT and CST.

Central Time UTC Offset

See Time Zone Map

What Is Central Time?

Central Time (CT) is the second easternmost time zone in the United States and is also used in Canada.

About a third of the population in the USA live in the CT time zone. It spans from northern Canada and south to Mexico near the equator.

In North America, Central Time shares a border with Eastern Time (ET) in the east and with Mountain Time (MT) in the west.

What Does CT Time Zone Mean?

Unlike other time zone denominations, which have a fixed time, Central Time refers to a geographical area where the time changes twice yearly as Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins and ends. Central Standard Time is UTC-6, while Central Daylight Time is UTC-5.

Most North American time zones also have generic terms, including Pacific Time (PT), Mountain Time (MT), Eastern Time (ET), and Atlantic Time (AT).

Converting Central Time to Other US Time Zones

Time Zone Converter: UTC to CT

Where and when is Central Time observed?

North America

US states using CST in the winter and CDT in the summer

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Florida - North-West parts Show

    Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties and norther Gulf county

  • Illinois
  • Indiana - these few north-western counties near Chicago (Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, Jasper, Starke) and these south-western counties in Indiana near Evansville Show

    Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Perry, Spencer

  • Iowa
  • Kansas - except these western counties Show

    Greeley, Hamilton, Sherman and Wallace - MST/MDT

  • Kentucky - Western part Show

    Adair, Allen, Ballard, Barren, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Green, Hansock, Hart, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Metcalfe, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Russell, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren and Webster counties

  • Louisiana
  • Michigan - A few western counties Show

    Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee

  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Nebraska - Eastern parts Show

    All except Arthur, Banner, Box Butte, Chase, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Dundy, Garden, Grant, Hooker, Keith, Kimball, Morrill, Perkins, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, and Sioux counties and the western part of Cherry county which are on MST/MDT

  • North Dakota - North and Eastern parts Show

    counties of Barnes, Benson, Bottineau, Burke, Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Grand Forks, Griggs, Kidder, Lamoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McLean, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Sheridan, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Ward, Wells, Williams and northern parts of McKenzie and Dunn, westernmost part of Morton and Fort Yates in Sioux

  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota - Eastern parts Show

    counties of Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Davison, Day, Deuel, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lincoln, Lyman, Marshall, McCook, McPherson, Mellette, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Sanborn, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Yankton, Walworth and eastern parts of Stanley

  • Tennessee - Western part Show

    counties of Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Coffee, Crockett, Cumberland, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grundy, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Jackson, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, McNairy, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Obion, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sumner, Tipton, Trusdale, Van Buren, Warren, Wayne Weakley, White, Willamson, Wilson

  • Texas - All, but a few counties in west Show

    El Paso and Hudspeth and part of Culberson

  • Wisconsin

Canadian provinces using CST in the winter and CDT in the summer

  • Manitoba
  • Ontario - most parts west of 90 West. (Parts east of 90 West is on EST/EDT)
  • Saskatchewan - only Creighton and Denare Beach

Mexican states using CST in the winter and CDT in the summer

  • Nuevo León
  • Tamaulipas

CST all year round

Some locations, such as the ones below don't switch and are in CST all year long.

North America

Canadian provinces using CST all year

  • Ontario - a few communities Show

    Atikokan, New Osnaburgh, Pickle Lake

  • Saskatchewan - most of it Show

    except Creighton and Denare Beach which use CDT during summer, and Lloydminster which is in the MST/MDT zone

Central America

Central American countries using CST all year

  • Belize
  • Costa Rica
  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Nicaragua