Central Standard Time (CST) is the second easternmost time zone in the United States and is also used in Canada. It covers all or parts of 20 states in the US and three provinces or territories in Canada. Check exact current time in Central Time Zone and discover the key facts: where CT is observed, time change dates, UTC time offset, time zone abbreviations. Complete guide to the Central Time Zone (CT). Learn which states use CST and CDT, the UTC offset, Daylight Saving dates, and how to convert Central Time. See the current Central Time right now with a live CST/CDT clock, date, UTC offset, and city comparison tool for the US Central Time Zone. Central Time (CT) is the second easternmost time zone in the United States and is also used in Canada. About a third of the population in the USA live in the CT time zone. It spans from northern Canada and south to Mexico near the equator. The Central Time Zone is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few Caribbean Islands. [1] It is one hour behind the Eastern Time Zone. Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) guide. Current time, time zone converter, DST schedule, major cities, and complete information about Central Standard Time and Central Daylight Time. Exact time now, time zone, time difference, sunrise/sunset time and key facts for Central Time (CT). Interactive Central Time Zone map showing CST/CDT, Eastern–Central and Central–Mountain boundaries, split states, cities and date-aware UTC offsets. Zoom, print or download. The United States spans four standard Time Zones—Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific—each Time Zone is one hour apart from east to west. That means a three-hour gap between New York and Los Angeles on the same calendar day.