UTC to CST converter

This page converts to US Central time, the clock used in Chicago, Dallas and Houston. It is behind UTC by 6 hours in winter (CST) and 5 hours in summer (CDT). CST can also stand for China Standard Time (UTC+8), so check which one the source means.

UTC has no daylight saving and never moves. Most people who search "CST" mean the local clock time in the US central states. That clock is on CST (UTC-6) in winter and CDT (UTC-5) in summer; in 2026 CDT runs from March 8 until clocks go back on November 1. The converter above follows the real clock for the date you pick, so you do not have to remember which half of the year it is. The live line and the table use the same rules.

Midnight UTC is 7:00 PM on the previous evening during CDT and 6:00 PM during CST, which is useful for judging overnight jobs and global launches.

Central time sits between the coasts: one hour behind New York and two hours ahead of Los Angeles, so it is often the easiest zone to schedule across the US.