Current time in Boston
Boston keeps Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, in winter and Eastern Daylight Time, UTC−4, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. The live clock below shows the current time, with sunrise, sunset and a conversion table underneath.
- Time zone
- —
- Abbreviation
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- UTC offset
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- Daylight saving
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- Compared with your clock
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- IANA time zone:
- America/New_York
- Country:
- United States
- Coordinates:
- 42.36° N, 71.06° W
- Clock changes in 2026:
- forward on March 8, 2026 · back on November 1, 2026 (UTC−5 / UTC−4)
On the eastern edge of Eastern Time
Boston sits near 71° west, four degrees east of the meridian Eastern Time is based on. The sun runs about 15 minutes ahead of the clock, so winter days end early: in the first week of December the sun sets around 4:12 PM. In June the sun rises before 5:10 AM, and twilight brightens the sky after 4:30.
Those early dusks led Massachusetts to set up a special commission, which reported in 2017 that the state could consider moving to Atlantic Time, one hour ahead, but only if other Northeast states moved with it. None did, so Boston remains on Eastern Time and follows the national daylight saving dates.
When to call Boston
Hours that fall inside 9:00–17:00 both in Boston and in the other city, using today's offsets.
Daylight in Boston
Sunday, October 18, 2026, local time
- Sunrise
- 7:00 AM
- Sunset
- 5:57 PM
- Day length
- 10 h 57 min
- Solar noon
- 12:29 PM
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 18 | 7:00 AM | 5:57 PM | 10 h 57 min |
| Mon, Oct 19 | 7:01 AM | 5:55 PM | 10 h 54 min−3′ |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 7:03 AM | 5:54 PM | 10 h 51 min−3′ |
| Wed, Oct 21 | 7:04 AM | 5:52 PM | 10 h 49 min−2′ |
| Thu, Oct 22 | 7:05 AM | 5:51 PM | 10 h 46 min−3′ |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 7:06 AM | 5:49 PM | 10 h 43 min−3′ |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 7:07 AM | 5:48 PM | 10 h 41 min−2′ |
Approximate times (usually within two minutes), calculated from the city's coordinates with the NOAA solar equations. Hills, tall buildings and unusual air refraction can shift what you see.
Sunrise and sunset by season
At 42.4° north, Boston has about 15 hours 17 minutes of daylight in late June, with sunset near 8:25 PM, and roughly 9 hours 4 minutes in late December, when sunrise is about 7:10 AM and sunset about 4:15 PM. The table above follows these changes day by day.
Transatlantic and cross-country hours
Boston's universities, hospitals and biotech firms work closely with Europe. London and Dublin are five hours ahead most of the year, so a 9:00 AM Boston call is 2:00 PM in London. Paris and Berlin are six hours ahead. Teams on the West Coast are three hours behind, which leaves roughly 12:00 to 5:00 PM Boston time for meetings where both sides are in the office. For each hour against Pacific Time, open EST to PST, and compare more cities on the world clock.
Nearby cities and their time
| Nearby cities | Distance | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| New York United States | 310 km | same time |
| Washington, D.C. United States | 630 km | same time |
| Toronto Canada | 690 km | same time |
| Chicago United States | 1,370 km | −1 h |
| Atlanta United States | 1,510 km | same time |
| Miami United States | 2,030 km | same time |
Frequently asked questions
- Why does it get dark so early in Boston in December?
- Boston lies on the far eastern side of the Eastern Time Zone and fairly far north, so the earliest sunsets, in early December, come around 4:12 PM.
- Has Massachusetts considered switching to Atlantic Time?
- A state commission studied it in 2017 and said it could make sense only if neighboring states made the same move. No change was adopted.
- Is Boston on the same time as New York?
- Yes. Both cities use Eastern Time and change clocks on the same nights, so their clocks always match.
- What time is it in Dublin when it is noon in Boston?
- 5:00 PM for most of the year, and 4:00 PM during the few weeks when the US has switched to daylight time and Ireland has not, or the reverse.
- When is the earliest sunrise in Boston?
- In mid-June, a little after 5:07 AM. The longest day is around June 20, with sunset close to 8:25 PM.