Time zone
MST / MDT — the standard and daylight abbreviations for Denver.
Check the current time in Denver, United States. Denver uses Mountain Time, UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 during daylight saving from March to November.
The key facts for Denver, United States, and how its clock relates to UTC.
Today’s sun times for Denver, the next clock change, and the current gap to other major cities.
Choose a date to see where a 09:00 start lands around the world.
Denver is the flagship city of the Mountain Time Zone, sitting at UTC-7 in winter and moving to UTC-6 for Mountain Daylight Time in the warmer months. Unlike nearby Phoenix, Denver does change its clocks twice a year along with most of the country. The Mile-High City falls two hours behind New York and one hour ahead of Los Angeles, placing it squarely between the coasts. That central-western position makes it a useful anchor for businesses coordinating across the United States.
Denver changes its clocks for daylight saving time, so its exact UTC offset depends on the season (UTC-7 (UTC-6 in summer)). The live clock above reads Denver'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.
Denver sits at about 39.7°N, 105.0°W. The longest day of 2026 is June 17, with 14h 59m between sunrise and sunset. The shortest is December 18, with 9h 21m, a difference of 5 h 38 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 9 (05:31) and the latest sunset around June 20 (20:31). 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 13:07 local time in late March, 13:01 in late June and 11:58 in late December. In standard time the sun is highest at about 12:00 on average, close to 12:00, so the clock and the sun are well aligned in Denver. During daylight saving time everything moves an hour later on the clock.
| Date (2026) | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 | 07:16 | 17:05 | 9h 50m |
| Feb 21 | 06:44 | 17:42 | 10h 58m |
| Mar 21 | 07:01 | 19:12 | 12h 11m |
| Apr 21 | 06:13 | 19:43 | 13h 30m |
| May 21 | 05:40 | 20:12 | 14h 32m |
| Jun 21 | 05:32 | 20:31 | 14h 59m |
| Jul 21 | 05:49 | 20:23 | 14h 34m |
| Aug 21 | 06:17 | 19:48 | 13h 31m |
| Sep 21 | 06:46 | 18:59 | 12h 13m |
| Oct 21 | 07:16 | 18:12 | 10h 56m |
| Nov 21 | 06:51 | 16:40 | 9h 49m |
| Dec 21 | 07:17 | 16:38 | 9h 21m |
Denver 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.
Recurring meetings set in Denver 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.
Yes. Denver switches to Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-6) on the second Sunday in March and returns to Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) on the first Sunday in November.
Denver is two hours behind New York. When it is noon in Denver, it is 2:00 p.m. in New York throughout the year.
Denver is in the Mountain Time Zone, using MST (UTC-7) in winter and MDT (UTC-6) in summer, under the IANA zone America/Denver.
Compare Denver with other major world clocks.
Background guides that explain how Denver's clock relates to the rest of the world.