Exact time now, time zone, time difference, sunrise/sunset time and key facts for Central Standard Time (CST). See the exact current Central Time (it shows CST or CDT automatically), convert Central to any zone with the converter, and compare it with the other US time zones. Everything's live, free, and handles daylight saving for you. 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. Historic, present and future dates for daylight saving time and clock changes. Time changes between years 2025 and 2029 in USA – Central are shown here. 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. Exact time now, time zone, time difference, sunrise/sunset time and key facts for Central Time (CT). 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. See exactly where Central Time is used and where it meets Eastern and Mountain Time. Explore both U.S. Central Time boundaries, inspect split states, search cities and choose any date to see whether a location uses CST (UTC−06:00), CDT (UTC−05:00) or another local Central Time rule. 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. The US/Central time zone, anchored by the city of Central, is one of the primary time zones in the United States. It observes Central Standard Time (CST) at UTC-06:00 during standard time and Central Daylight Time (CDT) at UTC-05:00 during daylight saving time.