Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone uses EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Nearly half of all Americans live in the Eastern Time Zone, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Boston and Philadelphia.
| Abbreviations | EST / EDT |
|---|---|
| UTC offset | UTC−5 / UTC−4 in summer |
| Reference zone | America/New York |
| Military letter | R (Romeo) |
States in the Eastern Time Zone
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Split states mostly in this zone
- Florida, except the western Panhandle, west of the Apalachicola River (Pensacola, Panama City, Destin)
- Indiana, except 12 counties: six in the northwest near Chicago (Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Starke) and six in the southwest near Evansville (Gibson, Perry, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick)
- Kentucky, except the western half of the state (Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro)
- Michigan, except four Upper Peninsula counties on the Wisconsin border (Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson, Menominee)
Parts of other states
- Tennessee: East Tennessee (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Bristol)
Major cities
| City | State |
|---|---|
| Hartford | Connecticut |
| New Haven | Connecticut |
| Stamford | Connecticut |
| Wilmington | Delaware |
| Dover | Delaware |
| Washington | District of Columbia |
| Miami | Florida |
| Orlando | Florida |
| Tampa | Florida |
| Jacksonville | Florida |
| Tallahassee | Florida |
| Atlanta | Georgia |
| Savannah | Georgia |
| Augusta | Georgia |
| Columbus | Georgia |
| Indianapolis | Indiana |
| Fort Wayne | Indiana |
| South Bend | Indiana |
| Louisville | Kentucky |
| Lexington | Kentucky |
| Frankfort | Kentucky |
| Portland | Maine |
| Augusta | Maine |
| Bangor | Maine |
Eastern time in other US zones
Standard time; the gaps are the same in summer, except for Arizona and Hawaii.
| EST | Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific | Alaska | Hawaii–Aleutian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM | 6 AM | 5 AM | 4 AM | 3 AM | 2 AM | 1 AM |
| 9 AM | 9 AM | 8 AM | 7 AM | 6 AM | 5 AM | 4 AM |
| 12 PM | 12 PM | 11 AM | 10 AM | 9 AM | 8 AM | 7 AM |
| 3 PM | 3 PM | 2 PM | 1 PM | 12 PM | 11 AM | 10 AM |
| 6 PM | 6 PM | 5 PM | 4 PM | 3 PM | 2 PM | 1 PM |
| 9 PM | 9 PM | 8 PM | 7 PM | 6 PM | 5 PM | 4 PM |
Outside the US
Ontario and Quebec (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal), most of Nunavut; Manitoba now stays on UTC−5 all year, matching EST in winter and CDT in summer. In Mexico, Quintana Roo (Cancún) uses UTC−5 all year. Also Panama, Jamaica, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador on the same offset without daylight saving.
Questions people ask
What states are in the Eastern Time Zone?
22 states and territories use Eastern Time as their main time, and 1 more have parts in it. They're all listed above.
Is it EST or EDT right now?
From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November it's EDT (UTC−4); the rest of the year it's EST (UTC−5). The live clock at the top shows which applies today.
What is Eastern Time in UTC?
UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 in summer.
See all US time zones on the map · time zone converter