Current CST Time

Central Standard Time (CST)

CST (Central Standard Time) is UTC-6:00, covering the central United States and Canada. During summer, the region observes CDT (UTC-5). The IANA timezone America/Chicago handles both CST and CDT transitions automatically. Note: China Standard Time is also abbreviated CST but is UTC+8 — a common source of confusion in international codebases.

Where Central Standard Time is observed

CST (UTC−6) covers the central United States and parts of Canada, Mexico, and Central America. IANA: America/Chicago for US Central Time.

• United States: Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis
• Mexico: Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara (now year-round CST after Mexico abolished DST in 2022)
• Central America: Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize
• Canada: Winnipeg, Saskatchewan (year-round CST, no DST)

CST vs CDT and the China CST conflict

US Central Time switches to CDT (UTC−5) during daylight saving, on the same March/November dates as Eastern. A separate, unrelated abbreviation "CST" sometimes refers to China Standard Time (UTC+8) — they collide. Always use the IANA name (America/Chicago, Asia/Shanghai) in code.

• CDT = UTC−5; CST = UTC−6 in North America
• China Standard Time (UTC+8) shares the CST abbreviation but is 14 hours offset
• Saskatchewan and Mexico use CST year-round (no daylight saving)

Convert CST to other timezones (GMT to CST, EST to CST, CST to UTC)

Pairwise CST conversions: GMT to CST, EST to CST, and CST to UTC. US Central Standard Time (UTC-6) is 6 hours behind UTC, 1 hour behind EST, and 2 hours ahead of PST. Beware the China Standard Time / North American CST collision — use Asia/Shanghai or America/Chicago in code.

• GMT time zone to CST / GMT to CST — GMT (UTC) is 6 hours ahead of US CST; 12:00 GMT = 06:00 CST in winter
• EST to CST — EST is 1 hour ahead of CST; 12:00 EST = 11:00 CST
• CST to UTC — CST is 6 hours behind UTC; 12:00 CST = 18:00 UTC in winter
• CST to PST — CST is 2 hours ahead of PST; 12:00 CST = 10:00 PST
• China Standard Time (CST, UTC+8) is 14 hours ahead of North American CST — never the same instant

CST aliases (Central Time, Zulu) and more pairwise conversions

CST is Central Time's winter form. Common search phrasings: "cst time converter", "cst time gmt", "current time in cst time zone", "cst ist conversion", "cst to ist time converter", "cst to est calculator", "cst to est conversion", "cst to est time conversion", "cst to pst converter", "zulu time to cst", "zulu to cst", "utc time to central time", "converting utc to cst". Zulu time is military/aviation shorthand for UTC.

• CST time converter / cst time gmt / current time in cst time zone — the clock above is the current CST time (UTC-6 in winter)
• CST to EST calculator / cst to est conversion / cst to est time conversion — CST + 1 = EST; 12:00 CST = 13:00 EST
• CST to PST converter / cst to pst converter — CST − 2 = PST; 12:00 CST = 10:00 PST in winter
• CST IST conversion / cst to ist time converter — IST = CST + 11:30; 12:00 CST = 23:30 IST
• Zulu time to CST / zulu to cst — Zulu = UTC; UTC − 6 = CST; 12:00 Zulu = 06:00 CST in winter
• UTC time to central time / converting utc to cst — UTC − 6 = CST (winter); UTC − 5 = CDT (summer)

More CST pairs: CST converter, CST clock with seconds, time difference CST and EST, 10 EST to IST

Additional Central-time queries: "cst converter", "central time zone clock seconds", "cst clock with seconds", "time difference cst and est", "central time to ist conversion", "10 est to ist".

• CST converter / cst converter — paste any wall-clock value into the converter above; the result includes CST display.
• Central time zone clock seconds / cst clock with seconds — the live clock above shows current CST time with seconds precision.
• Time difference CST and EST / time difference cst and est — EST is exactly 1 hour ahead of CST year-round (both winter and summer DST move in lockstep).
• Central time to IST conversion / central time to ist conversion — US CST + 11:30 = IST in winter; CST + 10:30 in US summer.
• 10 EST to IST / 10 est to ist — 10:00 EST = 20:30 IST in winter; 10:00 EDT = 19:30 IST in summer.

Still more CST pairs: CST↔IST/PST/UTC/GMT, central time to GMT

Additional CST search phrasings: "cst to ist time zone converter", "cst pst converter", "cst time zone converter", "cst utc time", "cst and pst difference", "central time to gmt conversion", "gmt to cst time conversion", "7 am cst to ist".

• CST to IST time zone converter / cst to ist time zone converter — CST + 11:30 = IST in US winter; 12:00 CST = 23:30 IST
• CST PST converter / cst pst converter / cst time zone converter — see /timezone/pst for the matched pair; CST is 2 hours ahead of PST
• CST UTC time / cst utc time — the live CST clock above is paired with the current UTC value
• CST and PST difference / cst and pst difference — exactly 2 hours; CST is 2 hours ahead of PST year-round (both DST in lockstep)
• Central time to GMT conversion / central time to gmt conversion — US CST + 6 = GMT in winter; 12:00 CST = 18:00 GMT
• GMT to CST time conversion / gmt to cst time conversion — GMT − 6 = CST in winter; GMT − 5 = CDT in summer
• 7 AM CST to IST / 7 am cst to ist — 07:00 CST = 18:30 IST in winter; 07:00 CDT = 17:30 IST in summer

CST↔PST converter, CST↔IST converter, central standard time converter

Additional CST queries: "cst to pst time converter", "cst to pst time difference", "cst time converter to ist", "central standard time converter", "central time to ist converter", "convert cst to pacific time", "pst to cst time conversion", "convert gmt to cst", "convert central time to gmt", "convert central time to pst".

• CST to PST time converter / cst to pst time converter — CST − 2 = PST; 12:00 CST = 10:00 PST in winter
• CST to PST time difference / cst to pst time difference — exactly 2 hours year-round (DST moves both in lockstep)
• CST time converter to IST / cst time converter to ist / central time to IST converter / central time to ist converter — CST + 11:30 = IST in US winter
• Central standard time converter / central standard time converter — same as CST converter; pick America/Chicago in code
• Convert CST to Pacific time / convert cst to pacific time — CST − 2 = PST; switches with DST
• PST to CST time conversion / pst to cst time conversion — PST + 2 = CST; both regions DST in lockstep
• Convert GMT to CST / convert gmt to cst — GMT − 6 = CST in winter; GMT − 5 = CDT in summer
• Convert central time to GMT / convert central time to gmt — US CST + 6 = GMT in winter; CET − 1 = GMT for European Central
• Convert central time to PST / convert central time to pst — CST − 2 = PST in winter; same shift in summer