EST to CST time
Central Time sits one hour behind Eastern Time in both winter and summer: 9:00 AM in Atlanta is 8:00 AM in Dallas. Enter any Eastern time below and the converter returns the Central time for that date.
Convert the other way: CST → EST
The "8/7c" rule and the Central-time schedule
US television is planned around the Eastern clock. A listing like "8/7c" means the show airs at 8:00 PM Eastern and 7:00 PM Central at the same instant, because Central viewers usually receive the Eastern feed live. That is why prime time in Chicago, Dallas or Kansas City runs 7:00–10:00 PM and the late local news airs at 10:00 PM Central rather than 11:00 PM.
Sports follow the same feed. The early NFL Sunday window kicks off at 1:00 PM Eastern, which is noon Central, and Sunday Night Football at 8:20 PM Eastern starts at 7:20 PM in Texas. Central fans get the friendliest kickoff times in the country.
Texas, Saskatchewan and Central America
Most of Texas is Central, including Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio; El Paso and Hudspeth County in the far west are on Mountain Time. A 5:00 PM Eastern deadline set from Atlanta or Charlotte is therefore 4:00 PM in Houston, and an East Coast office closing at 6:00 PM leaves Dallas colleagues one more hour of their working day.
Not every UTC−6 region moves its clocks. Saskatchewan stays on Central Standard Time all year, as do Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. In summer those places are two hours behind New York instead of one. If you work back from Central to Eastern, the CST to EST page covers the split states along the line.
Cities on these zones
EST → CST quick reference
Every hour of the day, using today's offsets (daylight saving is applied automatically).
| EST | CST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 11:00 PM−1 |
| 1:00 AM | 12:00 AM |
| 2:00 AM | 1:00 AM |
| 3:00 AM | 2:00 AM |
| 4:00 AM | 3:00 AM |
| 5:00 AM | 4:00 AM |
| 6:00 AM | 5:00 AM |
| 7:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| 8:00 AM | 7:00 AM |
| 9:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 10:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| 11:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| EST | CST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM |
| 1:00 PM | 12:00 PM |
| 2:00 PM | 1:00 PM |
| 3:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
| 4:00 PM | 3:00 PM |
| 5:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| 6:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 7:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
| 8:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| 9:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| 10:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| 11:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
- Difference right now
- CST 1 hours behind EST
- Shared office hours
- 7 PM–2 AM EST
- Daylight saving
- Both zones shift their clocks
Clock changes this year
- Mar 8, 2026EST: clocks go forward, UTC−5 → UTC−4
- Nov 1, 2026EST: clocks go back, UTC−4 → UTC−5
- Mar 8, 2026CST: clocks go forward, UTC−6 → UTC−5
- Nov 1, 2026CST: clocks go back, UTC−5 → UTC−6
Other conversions with these zones
Frequently asked questions
- What does 8/7c mean on a TV schedule?
- It means 8:00 PM Eastern and 7:00 PM Central, the same broadcast at the same moment. Mountain and Pacific times are usually listed separately because those regions often get a delayed feed.
- Is Texas on Central or Eastern time?
- Texas is on Central Time except for El Paso and Hudspeth County, which use Mountain Time. No part of Texas uses Eastern Time.
- What is 9 AM Eastern in Central time?
- 9:00 AM Eastern is 8:00 AM Central. Subtract one hour for any time of day.
- Do Guatemala and Costa Rica keep the same time as Chicago?
- In winter, yes: both are UTC−6. They do not observe daylight saving, so from March to November they are one hour behind Chicago.
- When is a 5 PM Eastern deadline in Dallas?
- It is 4:00 PM in Dallas. Write "5 PM ET" in the request so nobody assumes the deadline is in their own zone.