Central daylight time
UTC−5 from March to November, covering Chicago, Dallas and Houston — and sharing its abbreviation with a zone thirteen hours away.
The short answer
CDT is Central Daylight Time: UTC−5. In force from 2026-03-08 to 2026-11-01 this year.
In winter the same region is on CST (UTC−6). The year-round label is CT.
Where it applies
The middle band of the United States and Canada: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Nashville, Winnipeg. Also most of Mexico's interior, though Mexico abolished nationwide daylight saving in 2022, so its offsets no longer track the US ones.
Converting from CDT
| To | Difference | Example |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 1 hour ahead | 09:00 CDT = 10:00 |
| Denver | 1 hour behind | 09:00 CDT = 08:00 |
| Los Angeles | 2 hours behind | 09:00 CDT = 07:00 |
| UTC | 5 hours ahead | 09:00 CDT = 14:00 UTC |
| London | 6 hours ahead | 09:00 CDT = 15:00 |
The relationship to Eastern is the most stable conversion in the country — one hour, all year, because both zones change together. See CST to EST.
The ambiguity worth knowing about
CST means three different things.
| CST | Offset | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Central Standard Time | UTC−6 | United States, Canada |
| China Standard Time | UTC+8 | China |
| Cuba Standard Time | UTC−5 | Cuba |
US Central and China Standard Time are fourteen hours apart. If a thread includes anyone outside North America, "CST" is not a safe abbreviation — and unlike the EST/EDT problem, this one is not fixed by using the daylight variant, because the collision is in the letters themselves.
Write Chicago.
Mexico is no longer in step
Mexico ended nationwide daylight saving in 2022. Most of the country now stays on standard time year-round, with narrow exceptions in border municipalities that follow US rules for practical reasons.
So a Mexico City–Chicago gap that was constant is now seasonal: they match in winter and differ by an hour in summer. If you have a recurring meeting with Mexico set up before 2022, it is worth re-checking.
Related: CST to EST · Eastern daylight time · Time zone abbreviations decoded
Timezone: World Clock Widget
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Figures on this page are computed from the IANA time zone database. Last generated 2026-08-18.