New York
--:-- ET
The city that names the zone. JFK, LGA, EWR.
Live · ET · 8 US and 3 Canadian cities
Eastern Time cities
--
Loading current date…
Eleven cities from Boston to Atlanta and from Miami to Montreal read the same time right now. Their sun does not: on the December solstice, solar noon ranges from 11:42 AM in Boston to 12:36 PM in Atlanta.
- Now in effect
- EST or EDT
- Next change
- Second Sunday in March
- Zone names
- America/New_York · America/Toronto
- Solar noon spread
- 53 minutes
What time is it in each Eastern Time city?
Every clock below is computed on your device from the tz database. They always match – the point of the list is what each city adds.
Washington, DC
--:-- ET
Home of the Naval Observatory master clock. DCA, IAD, BWI.
Boston
--:-- ET
Far east: December sunsets about 4:11 PM. BOS.
Philadelphia
--:-- ET
Within a minute of EST's own meridian. PHL.
Atlanta
--:-- ET
Far west: the sun runs 38 minutes behind the clock. ATL.
Miami
--:-- ET
Furthest south, with the longest winter days. MIA.
Detroit
--:-- ET
The latest winter sunrise of the eleven. DTW.
Charlotte
--:-- ET
The sun runs 23 minutes behind its clocks. CLT.
Toronto
--:-- ET
Canada's largest city and its zone's name. YYZ.
Ottawa
--:-- ET
Canada's capital, three minutes from 75°W. YOW.
Montreal
--:-- ET
Shares Boston's 4:11 PM December dusk. YUL.
Why do cities on the same clock see the sun at different times?
A time zone is a political compromise laid over a rotating planet. Eastern Standard Time is the average solar time of the 75th meridian west, and the Earth turns one degree of longitude every four minutes. A city east of 75°W sees the sun peak before the clock reaches noon; a city to the west sees it after. Boston, at 71.06°W, is 16 minutes early; Atlanta, at 84.39°W, is 38 minutes late. That 13-degree spread is the 53-minute gap in solar noon on the same date.
Longitude decides when the day is centered; latitude decides how long it lasts. On December 21 Miami gets 10 hours 32 minutes of daylight and Montreal only 8 hours 43 minutes, so Miami's latest winter sunrise, about 7:09 AM, is earlier than New York's 7:20 AM even though Miami lies six degrees further west. Detroit combines both handicaps – far west and far north – and has the latest sunrise of the group, about 8:01 AM EST in early January. Philadelphia and Ottawa sit within three minutes of the meridian, so noon on their clocks is close to noon by the sun.
Notice too that every city's earliest sunset comes in early December and its latest sunrise in early January, not on the solstice. The equation of time – the drift of the real sun against average time – pushes solar noon later by about half a minute a day around Christmas. The definition of the offset itself is in Eastern Standard Time explained, and the homepage has the live Eastern Time clock with the next DST change.
| City | Longitude | Sun vs clock | Solar noon, Dec 21 | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise | Daylight, Dec 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 71.06°W | −16 min | 11:42 AM | 4:11 PM · Dec 8 | 7:14 AM · Jan 3 | 9 h 05 m |
| Montreal | 73.57°W | −6 min | 11:52 AM | 4:11 PM · Dec 10 | 7:34 AM · Jan 2 | 8 h 43 m |
| New York | 74.01°W | −4 min | 11:54 AM | 4:28 PM · Dec 8 | 7:20 AM · Jan 4 | 9 h 15 m |
| Philadelphia | 75.17°W | +1 min | 11:59 AM | 4:35 PM · Dec 7 | 7:23 AM · Jan 4 | 9 h 20 m |
| Ottawa | 75.70°W | +3 min | 12:01 PM | 4:20 PM · Dec 10 | 7:43 AM · Jan 2 | 8 h 42 m |
| Washington, DC | 77.04°W | +8 min | 12:06 PM | 4:46 PM · Dec 7 | 7:27 AM · Jan 5 | 9 h 26 m |
| Toronto | 79.38°W | +18 min | 12:16 PM | 4:41 PM · Dec 9 | 7:51 AM · Jan 3 | 8 h 56 m |
| Miami | 80.19°W | +21 min | 12:19 PM | 5:29 PM · Nov 29 | 7:09 AM · Jan 13 | 10 h 32 m |
| Charlotte | 80.84°W | +23 min | 12:22 PM | 5:11 PM · Dec 5 | 7:32 AM · Jan 7 | 9 h 47 m |
| Detroit | 83.05°W | +32 min | 12:30 PM | 5:00 PM · Dec 8 | 8:01 AM · Jan 3 | 9 h 05 m |
| Atlanta | 84.39°W | +38 min | 12:36 PM | 5:29 PM · Dec 4 | 7:43 AM · Jan 8 | 9 h 55 m |
Why do Canadian cities use America/Toronto instead of America/New_York?
Software does not store "Eastern Time"; it stores a tz database identifier, and the database gives one name to every region whose clocks have agreed since 1970. New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami and Charlotte all share America/New_York. Toronto gets its own entry because of a brief US experiment: during the 1970s energy crisis the United States ran daylight saving time through the winter, from January 6, 1974 and again from February 23, 1975. Canada did not, so New York and Toronto clocks differed by an hour from January 6 to April 28, 1974 and from February 23 to April 27, 1975.
Since then the two identifiers have produced identical times; Ontario and Quebec even adopted the new US daylight saving dates when they took effect in 2007. America/Toronto covers most of Ontario and Quebec, which is why Ottawa and Montreal use it; the older name America/Montreal survives only as an alias for it. Detroit has America/Detroit for a similar reason: Michigan's clocks differed from New York's in 1970–72 and in early 1975. For any present-day date, all three give the same answer.
The rules could split again. Ontario's Time Amendment Act, 2020 would keep the province on daylight time all year, but only when Quebec and New York State move together with it; as of November 2026 it has not been proclaimed in force. In Washington, the Sunshine Protection Act passed the US House on July 14, 2026 and awaits the Senate. The Eastern Time in Canada page covers the provinces in detail.
| Identifier | Cities here | Differed from New York |
|---|---|---|
America/New_York | New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte | — |
America/Detroit | Detroit | Summers 1970–72; Feb 23–Apr 27, 1975 |
America/Toronto | Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal | Jan 6–Apr 28, 1974; Feb 23–Apr 27, 1975 |
Where are the Eastern Time cities on the map?
The dashed line is 75°W. Tap a city for its live time and its own guide.
- Eastern Time cities with a guide
- 75°W, the meridian of EST
Not every place inside the zone's outline keeps its time – the legal boundary follows state and county lines. See every state on Eastern Time, the full time zone map and why the boundaries are so irregular.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the largest city on Eastern Time?
New York City, the largest city in the United States. That is why the tz database names the whole zone America/New_York.
Is Chicago on Eastern Time?
No. Chicago is on Central Time, one hour behind every city on this page all year: 10:00 AM in New York or Toronto is 9:00 AM in Chicago. See EST to CST.
Is Indianapolis on Eastern Time?
Yes. Indianapolis and most of Indiana are on Eastern Time, and since 2006 the state has observed daylight saving time, so Indianapolis matches New York all year. A few counties in the northwest and southwest corners use Central Time. See Indiana time zones.
Which cities at UTC−5 never change their clocks?
Bogotá, Lima, Quito, Panama City, Kingston and Cancún stay on UTC−5 all year, and since November 2026 so do Winnipeg and the Kenora area of north-western Ontario. They match Eastern Standard Time in winter but are one hour behind New York from March to November. See everywhere at UTC−5.
Why isn't my city listed here?
This hub covers eleven large cities with their own guides. Every other place on Eastern Time shows exactly the same clock; the states and Canada pages list where the zone applies, including the counties on its edges.
Explore
States on Eastern Time
The 17 whole states, DC and the five split states.
Eastern Time in Canada
Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut, and their DST plans.
Time zone map
Every US and Canadian zone on one interactive map.
UTC−5 worldwide
Countries on Eastern Standard Time's offset, with or without DST.