Central Time Zone
time zone observing UTC−06:00 during standard time and UTC−05:00 during daylight saving time
The Central Time Zone is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few Caribbean Islands. It is one hour behind the Eastern Time Zone.
Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in most parts of that zone (20 states in the US, three provinces or territories in Canada, and several border municipalities in Mexico): Central Standard Time (CST) is observed from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March. It is six hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and designated internationally as UTC−6. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, the same areas observe DST, creating the designation of Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is five hours behind UTC and known formally as UTC−5.
Regions using Central Time (CT)
Canada
Two provinces and one territory are contained entirely in the Central Time Zone, all on year-round Central Standard Time (UTC−6):
Alberta
Northwest Territories
Saskatchewan
Central Standard Time (UTC−6 year-round) is officially called Alberta Time and Northwest Territories Time in their respective jurisdictions.
In the province of British Columbia, Central Standard Time (UTC−6 year-round) is observed in the areas noted, while all other areas observe Mountain Standard Time:
Regional District of East Kootenay
Town of Golden
Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Area A
The following Canadian provinces and territories observe Central Time in the areas noted, while their other areas observe Eastern Time:
Nunavut (territory): western areas (most of Kivalliq Region and part of Qikiqtaaluk Region)
Ontario (province): a portion of the northwest bordering southeastern Manitoba, in and around Kenora.
On 17 September 2026, Manitoba premier Wab Kinew announced the province of Manitoba, previously on Central Time with daylight saving time, would be adopting permanent DST, moving the province to year-round Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00).
United States
Ten states are contained entirely in the Central Time Zone:
Alabama
Arkansas
Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
Five states are split between the Central Time Zone and the Mountain Time Zone:
Kansas: all except for Sherman, Wallace, Greeley, and Hamilton counties
Nebraska: eastern two thirds including the east part of Cherry County
North Dakota: all except for southwest regions, south part of McKenzie County, and the majority of Dunn County and far western Sioux County
South Dakota: eastern half including part of Stanley County
Texas: all except for El Paso, Hudspeth, and northwestern Culberson counties
Five states are split between the Central Time Zone and the Eastern Time Zone:
Florida: Florida panhandle west of the Apalachicola River; Franklin County west of the Apalachicola River and the northern parts of Gulf County are in the Central Time Zone
Indiana: Northwest Indiana and most of Southwestern Indiana, including the Evansville metropolitan area
Kentucky: the western portion of the state, including three major cities: Bowling Green, Owensboro and Paducah
Michigan: The four Upper Peninsula counties bordering Wisconsin: Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson, and Menominee counties
Tennessee: West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee, including the major cities of Nashville, Memphis, and Clarksville
Additionally, Phenix City, Alabama, and several nearby communities in Russell County, Alabama, unofficially observe Eastern Time. This is due to their close proximity to Columbus, Georgia, which is on Eastern Time.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Central Time Zone” as time zone observing UTC−06:00 during standard time and UTC−05:00 during daylight saving time. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as time zone observing UTC−06:00 during standard time and UTC−05:00 during daylight saving time. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2086913. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2026.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Central Time Zone” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.