Split state · 79 counties ET · 41 counties CT

Kentucky time zones: east and west

Kentucky's 120 counties split 79 to 41: Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort are on Eastern Time, while western Kentucky – Bowling Green, Paducah, Owensboro and Hopkinsville – keeps Central Time, one hour behind.

Now in Louisville
--:-- ET
Now in Bowling Green
--:-- CT
Central Time counties
41 of 120
Latest county to switch
Wayne, 2000

Which Kentucky counties are on Central Time?

Forty-one counties, about a third of the state's total, use Central Time. They take in the Jackson Purchase west of the Tennessee River, much of the Pennyrile and the Western Coal Field, and the south-central counties from Bowling Green east to Lake Cumberland. Central Time cities include Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah, Hopkinsville, Henderson, Madisonville, Murray and Glasgow.

The other 79 counties, including everything around Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Elizabethtown, Somerset and Covington, use Eastern Time. The table lists every Central Time county with its county seat, alphabetically.

All 41 Kentucky counties on Central Time (derived from 49 CFR 71.5(c))
CountyCounty seatCountyCounty seat
AdairColumbiaHendersonHenderson
AllenScottsvilleHickmanClinton
BallardWickliffeHopkinsMadisonville
BarrenGlasgowLivingstonSmithland
BreckinridgeHardinsburgLoganRussellville
ButlerMorgantownLyonEddyville
CaldwellPrincetonMarshallBenton
CallowayMurrayMcCrackenPaducah
CarlisleBardwellMcLeanCalhoun
ChristianHopkinsvilleMetcalfeEdmonton
ClintonAlbanyMonroeTompkinsville
CrittendenMarionMuhlenbergGreenville
CumberlandBurkesvilleOhioHartford
DaviessOwensboroRussellJamestown
EdmonsonBrownsvilleSimpsonFranklin
FultonHickmanToddElkton
GravesMayfieldTriggCadiz
GraysonLeitchfieldUnionMorganfield
GreenGreensburgWarrenBowling Green
HancockHawesvilleWebsterDixon
HartMunfordville

Where is the time zone line in Kentucky?

Federal regulation, 49 CFR § 71.5(c), draws the line along county borders. It leaves the Ohio River at the western edge of Meade County, runs down the western edges of Meade and Hardin, along the southern edges of Hardin and Larue, around Taylor County, then along the western and southern edges of Casey and Pulaski and the western edge of Wayne County to Tennessee. Those seven border counties are on Eastern Time; their western and southern neighbours are on Central. Any town lying exactly on the line counts as Central.

The line cuts across Kentucky's main north–south interstate: drivers on Interstate 65 set their clocks forward an hour heading north out of Hart County, and back an hour heading south into it. Lake Cumberland straddles the line too – Jamestown and Russell Springs at its western end are on Central Time, Somerset and Monticello to the east on Eastern. South of the state line the boundary continues through East Tennessee; see Tennessee's time zones.

Neighbours on each side of the line
Eastern sideCentral side
Meade (Brandenburg)Breckinridge (Hardinsburg)
Hardin (Elizabethtown)Grayson (Leitchfield), Hart (Munfordville)
Larue (Hodgenville)Hart, Green (Greensburg)
Taylor (Campbellsville)Green, Adair (Columbia)
Casey (Liberty)Adair, Russell (Jamestown)
Pulaski (Somerset)Russell
Wayne (Monticello)Russell, Clinton (Albany)

Where are Kentucky's Central Time counties on the map?

Violet: the 41 Central Time county seats. Amber: Eastern Time cities, including the seats of the seven counties on the Eastern side of the line.

Why is western Kentucky on Central Time?

Start with the sun. Central Standard Time is mean solar time at 90°W and Eastern Standard Time at 75°W. Paducah, at 88.6°W, is almost on the Central meridian, so its mean solar noon falls at about 11:55 AM CST. Bowling Green, at 86.4°W, gets it at 11:46 AM CST. Louisville, at 85.7°W, is only a little farther east, but on Eastern Time its mean noon comes at 12:43 PM EST – and in Pikeville, in far eastern Kentucky, at 12:30 PM EST.

Then follow the trade. Western Kentucky's nearest large cities – Nashville, Evansville, St. Louis and Memphis – are all on Central Time, while the north and east look to Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati, all on Eastern. Since 1918 federal time zone lines have had to serve "the convenience of commerce", and since 1967 the US Department of Transportation has applied that test county by county: where a county's goods come from, which TV stations and newspapers reach it, where its residents work, shop and go to school.

How has Kentucky's time zone line moved?

The boundary has moved west in steps. Louisville kept Central Time from the railroads' standard time of 1883 until the summer of 1961. The Interstate Commerce Commission, which drew the federal lines after the Standard Time Act of 1918, moved the easternmost and northernmost counties to Eastern Time in the 1940s, and on July 23, 1961 Louisville and much of central Kentucky followed. The history of Eastern Time covers the national laws behind these changes.

The most recent move came in 2000. On April 22, 1999, the Wayne County Fiscal Court petitioned DOT to move the county to Eastern Time, arguing that its supplies came from Somerset, Lexington and Knoxville, its television stations and daily newspapers were based in the Eastern zone, and its nearest commercial airport was Lexington. About 80 people attended DOT's hearing in Monticello on June 24, 1999; nearly 2,500 named individuals sent written views, and about 1,800 comments favoured the change. DOT agreed, and Wayne County switched at 2:00 AM CDT on October 29, 2000 – the night the rest of the Central zone fell back, so Monticello simply kept its summer clock.

Timeline of Kentucky's Eastern–Central line: railroad time 1883, Standard Time Act 1918, eastern and northern counties to Eastern in the 1940s, Louisville to Eastern in 1961, Wayne County to Eastern in 2000 188319181940s19612000 Railroad time;Louisville CT Federal zones(ICC) East and northto Eastern Louisville and centralKentucky to Eastern Wayne Countyto Eastern
Every boundary move shown put more of Kentucky on Eastern Time.

What does the time line mean day to day?

Sunrise and sunset on both sides of the line (computed, ±2 min)
CityZoneSunrise Dec 21, 2026Sunset Jun 21, 2027
PaducahCT7:04 AM CST8:18 PM CDT
Bowling GreenCT6:55 AM CST8:09 PM CDT
AlbanyCT6:49 AM CST8:03 PM CDT
MonticelloET7:49 AM EST9:02 PM EDT
LouisvilleET7:56 AM EST9:10 PM EDT
LexingtonET7:50 AM EST9:04 PM EDT

Albany (Clinton County, Central) and Monticello (Wayne County, Eastern) are about 19 miles apart and see nearly the same sun, yet their clocks differ by an hour.

For everyday planning, subtract one hour going west: a 9:00 AM meeting in Frankfort is 8:00 AM in Bowling Green. When an event is announced from Frankfort or Louisville, check whether the time is ET; Owensboro and Henderson, meanwhile, share their clocks with Evansville across the Ohio River in Indiana. The EST to CST converter gives a full hour-by-hour table, the live Eastern Time clock shows Louisville time, and the time zone boundaries guide follows the line through the neighbouring states. All states on Eastern Time lists the other split states.

Frequently asked questions

What time zone is the Kentucky Derby in?

Eastern Time. Churchill Downs is in Louisville, so post times are given in ET. In Bowling Green or Paducah the same race starts one hour earlier on the local clock.

Is Fort Knox on Eastern Time?

Yes. Fort Knox, Radcliff and Elizabethtown are in the Eastern Time part of the state. The line runs along the western edges of Meade and Hardin counties, so Leitchfield and Hardinsburg, a short drive west, are on Central Time.

What time zone are Kentucky Lake and Land Between the Lakes in?

Central Time. Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and Land Between the Lakes lie in Central Time counties of western Kentucky, such as Marshall, Lyon, Trigg and Calloway, and extend into Tennessee, which is on Central Time there too.

Is Mammoth Cave on Central Time?

Yes. Mammoth Cave National Park is in Edmonson, Hart and Barren counties, all on Central Time, so tour times are in CT – one hour earlier than in Louisville or Lexington.

When it is noon in Louisville, what time is it in Paducah?

11:00 AM. Paducah is on Central Time and Louisville on Eastern Time, and both change clocks on the same Sundays, so the gap is one hour all year apart from a single overnight hour on each changeover night.

Explore

EST to CST

Louisville to Bowling Green time, hour by hour.