North America · UTC-6
Central Standard Time
CST
UTC-6
Yes — becomes CDT (UTC-5) from March to November
North America
UTC-5 (CDT)
Central Standard Time (CST) is UTC-6 and is used across the central region of North America including major US cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Houston.
Use our Time Zone Converter to instantly convert CST to any other time zone worldwide. You can also add North America cities to the World Clock to track multiple time zones simultaneously.
Yes — becomes CDT (UTC-5) from March to November. For a full list of DST changes worldwide, see our DST Changes page.
Central Standard Time (CST) is UTC−6, meaning it is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. It is observed across a large region of North America including the central United States, parts of Canada, and Mexico during the winter months. During summer, most of this region switches to Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is UTC−5.
CST is used in major cities including Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Winnipeg. It is one of the most widely observed time zones in North America, covering the central corridor of the continent.
CST (Central Standard Time) is UTC−6 and is used during winter months. CDT (Central Daylight Time) is UTC−5 and is used during summer when clocks are moved forward one hour. The region is often referred to as the "Central Time Zone" regardless of which offset is currently in effect.
CST is 1 hour behind Eastern Standard Time (EST). When it is 12:00 noon in New York (EST), it is 11:00 AM in Chicago (CST).
States fully in Central Time include Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Texas. Some states like Indiana and Michigan observe Eastern Time instead.
Find the UTC offset for your local time zone and add or subtract the difference from UTC−6. For example, if you are in London (UTC+0), add 6 hours to CST to get your local time. Use our world clock for instant conversions.