Current time in Houston
Houston uses Central Time: CST, UTC−6, in winter and CDT, UTC−5, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. The clock below shows the exact time, today's sun times and a quick conversion table.
- Time zone
- —
- Abbreviation
- —
- UTC offset
- —
- Daylight saving
- —
- Compared with your clock
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- IANA time zone:
- America/Chicago
- Country:
- United States
- Coordinates:
- 29.76° N, 95.37° W
- Clock changes in 2026:
- forward on March 8, 2026 · back on November 1, 2026 (UTC−6 / UTC−5)
Houston's clock and its neighbors
Houston changes clocks with Dallas, Chicago and the rest of the Central zone. It is one hour behind New York and two hours ahead of Los Angeles in every season. To the south, Mexico City and Monterrey stopped using daylight saving in 2022, so Houston matches them in winter and is one hour ahead from March to November, a detail that trips up cross-border logistics schedules each spring.
Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston works on local time for its staff, but the International Space Station itself runs on UTC, the same as GMT. When you read an ISS event time in news coverage, subtract five hours in summer or six in winter to get Houston time.
Energy-sector hours
Houston is the center of the US oil and gas industry, and much of its business runs on London and North Sea hours. London is six hours ahead for most of the year and five hours ahead during the short spells when the US is on daylight time and the UK is not. Aberdeen, Scotland, uses the same clock as London. Morning in Houston overlaps with the European afternoon, so calls before 10:00 AM Houston time are the usual window. The stock market opens at 8:30 AM local.
Nearby cities and their time
| Nearby cities | Distance | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas United States | 360 km | same time |
| Atlanta United States | 1,130 km | +1 h |
| Mexico City Mexico | 1,210 km | −1 h |
| Denver United States | 1,410 km | −1 h |
| Chicago United States | 1,520 km | same time |
| Miami United States | 1,560 km | +1 h |
Houston at 9, 12, 17 and 21 o'clock elsewhere
Each cell is the time in Houston at that hour in the city on the left, using today's offsets.
| When it is … in | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| London | 3:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 3:00 PM |
| Paris | 2:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 2:00 PM |
| Dubai | 12:00 AM | 3:00 AM | 8:00 AM | 12:00 PM |
| Mumbai | 10:30 PM−1 | 1:30 AM | 6:30 AM | 10:30 AM |
| Singapore | 8:00 PM−1 | 11:00 PM−1 | 4:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| Tokyo | 7:00 PM−1 | 10:00 PM−1 | 3:00 AM | 7:00 AM |
| Sydney | 5:00 PM−1 | 8:00 PM−1 | 1:00 AM | 5:00 AM |
Gulf Coast daylight
At 29.8° north, Houston has about 14 hours of daylight in June, with sunrise near 6:20 AM and sunset around 8:25 PM, and about 10 hours 15 minutes in December, when the sun rises around 7:10 AM and sets close to 5:25 PM. The CST to EST page shows each hour against the East Coast, and the world clock compares Houston with 68 other cities.
Sunrise and sunset in Houston
Sunday, October 18, 2026, local time
- Sunrise
- 7:25 AM
- Sunset
- 6:47 PM
- Day length
- 11 h 22 min
- Solar noon
- 1:06 PM
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 18 | 7:25 AM | 6:47 PM | 11 h 22 min |
| Mon, Oct 19 | 7:25 AM | 6:46 PM | 11 h 21 min−1′ |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 7:26 AM | 6:45 PM | 11 h 19 min−2′ |
| Wed, Oct 21 | 7:27 AM | 6:44 PM | 11 h 17 min−2′ |
| Thu, Oct 22 | 7:27 AM | 6:43 PM | 11 h 16 min−1′ |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 7:28 AM | 6:42 PM | 11 h 14 min−2′ |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 7:29 AM | 6:41 PM | 11 h 12 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.
When to call Houston
Hours that fall inside 9:00–17:00 both in Houston and in the other city, using today's offsets.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Houston on Central time all year?
- Yes. Houston uses CST in winter and CDT in summer; both belong to the Central Time Zone, and the change follows the national calendar.
- What time is it in Aberdeen when it is 8 AM in Houston?
- 2:00 PM for most of the year. In the weeks when the US has already changed clocks and the UK has not, it is 1:00 PM.
- What time zone does the International Space Station use?
- Coordinated Universal Time (GMT). Mission Control in Houston converts to local Central Time for staff shifts.
- Is Houston one hour ahead of Mexico City?
- From mid-March to early November it is. Over the winter both cities sit on UTC−6, so the clocks match.
- When is the latest sunset in Houston?
- In late June, at about 8:25 PM. The earliest sunset comes in early December, shortly after 5:20 PM.