About Eastern Time
- Standard offset
- UTC−5
- Daylight offset
- UTC−4
- Abbreviations
- EST, EDT
- Observes DST
- Yes
Used in: United States, Canada.
Eastern Time is the default clock of American finance, government, and broadcast media — the New York Stock Exchange, network primetime, and most national deadlines all run on it, so it functions as the country's de facto reference even for people who don't live in it.
Daylight saving time
Eastern Time observes daylight saving time. The next transition is on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when clocks fall back from EDT to EST.
See the daylight saving time page for transition dates across every time zone.
Daylight today
Sun times at the representative location for Eastern Time.
- Sunrise
- 5:27 AM
- Sunset
- 8:24 PM
- Day length
- 14h 58m
Major cities in Eastern Time
The current local time in these cities matches Eastern Time.
- New YorkUS
- TorontoCA
- BrooklynUS
- QueensUS
- MontréalCA
- PhiladelphiaUS
- ManhattanUS
- The BronxUS
- OttawaCA
- CharlotteUS
- IndianapolisUS
- WashingtonUS
- BostonUS
- DetroitUS
- BaltimoreUS
- AtlantaUS
- MiamiUS
- TampaUS
- ClevelandUS
- OrlandoUS
- PittsburghUS
Browse all cities to see the current local time anywhere.
Convert Eastern Time to
Frequently asked questions
- What is Eastern Time (EST)?
- Eastern Time (ET) is UTC−5, shifting to UTC−4 in summer — the dominant US business clock, from New York and DC up through eastern Canada.
- What is EST in UTC?
- EST is UTC−5 in standard time and UTC−4 during daylight saving time.
- Does Eastern Time observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. The next change is on November 1, 2026, when clocks fall back from EDT to EST.