Current Time in Boston

About time in Boston

Boston runs on Eastern Time, the same clock used by New York and the rest of the US East Coast. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, the city switches to Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4), then falls back to Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) for the winter. As a major financial and academic hub, Boston shares its business hours with Wall Street, so markets and universities here open on the same Eastern schedule. When it is noon in Boston during summer, it is 5 p.m. in London.

Boston changes its clocks for daylight saving time, so its exact UTC offset depends on the season (UTC-5 (UTC-4 in summer)). The live clock above reads Boston's local time directly from the IANA time zone database in your browser, using the rules installed on your device. Keep your browser updated when regional rules change. To plan a call or convert a specific moment, use the timezone converter or meeting planner linked below.

Daylight in Boston through 2026

Boston sits at about 42.4°N, 71.1°W. The longest day of 2026 is June 18, with 15h 17m between sunrise and sunset. The shortest is December 20, with 9h 04m, a difference of 6 h 13 min. At this mid-latitude, winter evenings are dark early and summer evenings stay light well after a normal working day.

The earliest sunrise of the year comes around June 13 (05:06) and the latest sunset around June 25 (20:25). These are not exactly on the solstice because the sun’s position runs slightly ahead of or behind clock time during the year.

Solar noon, when the sun is highest, falls at about 12:51 local time in late March, 12:45 in late June and 11:42 in late December. In standard time the sun is highest at about 11:44 on average, close to 12:00, so the clock and the sun are well aligned in Boston. During daylight saving time everything moves an hour later on the clock.

Local clock times, including daylight saving where it applies. Calculated with the standard sunrise equation for the city centre; terrain and tall buildings can delay the visible sunrise.

Clock changes in Boston (2026–2027)

Boston changes its clocks twice in 2026. On a change night, the local time skips or repeats a block of time, and the gap to other cities shifts unless they change on the same date.

• Sunday, March 8, 2026: at 02:00 clocks go forward one hour to 03:00 (UTC−5 → UTC−4).
• Sunday, November 1, 2026: at 02:00 clocks go back one hour to 01:00 (UTC−4 → UTC−5).
• Sunday, March 14, 2027: at 02:00 clocks go forward one hour to 03:00 (UTC−5 → UTC−4).
• Sunday, November 7, 2027: at 02:00 clocks go back one hour to 01:00 (UTC−4 → UTC−5).

Recurring meetings set in Boston time stay at the same local hour; participants elsewhere see the meeting move by an hour for the weeks when only one side has changed.

Dates come from the IANA time zone database as bundled with this site’s build. Governments occasionally change rules at short notice; see our methodology.