Current Time in Houston

About time in Houston

Houston, the largest city in Texas, keeps Central Time at UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 during Central Daylight Time. Sharing the IANA zone America/Chicago, it changes its clocks on the same dates as the rest of the central United States. As a global energy capital, Houston's business hours often overlap with both East Coast finance and international oil markets. Its position in the heart of the country makes it a convenient three-hour bridge between New York's morning and Los Angeles' early start.

Houston changes its clocks for daylight saving time, so its exact UTC offset depends on the season (UTC-6 (UTC-5 in summer)). The live clock above reads Houston'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 Houston through 2026

Houston sits at about 29.8°N, 95.4°W. The longest day of 2026 is June 14, with 14h 03m between sunrise and sunset. The shortest is December 16, with 10h 14m, a difference of 3 h 49 min. At this latitude the seasons change day length noticeably but not dramatically, so the working day has usable daylight all year.

The earliest sunrise of the year comes around June 5 (06:20) and the latest sunset around June 22 (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 13:28 local time in late March, 13:23 in late June and 12:19 in late December. In standard time the sun is highest at about 12:22 on average, about 22 minutes after 12:00, a modest gap between clock and sun time in Houston. 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 Houston (2026–2027)

Houston 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−6 → UTC−5).
• Sunday, November 1, 2026: at 02:00 clocks go back one hour to 01:00 (UTC−5 → UTC−6).
• Sunday, March 14, 2027: at 02:00 clocks go forward one hour to 03:00 (UTC−6 → UTC−5).
• Sunday, November 7, 2027: at 02:00 clocks go back one hour to 01:00 (UTC−5 → UTC−6).

Recurring meetings set in Houston 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.