New York sits on Eastern Time. Chicago sits on Central Time. The gap between them is always one hour, every day of the year. When it is 12:00 PM in New York, it is 11:00 AM in Chicago. Subtract one hour from any Eastern Time to get Central Time. Add one hour to any Central Time to get Eastern Time.
That one-hour offset does not budge, even when clocks change. Both zones spring forward on the same date (Sunday 8 March 2026 at 02:00 local) and fall back on the same date (Sunday 1 November 2026 at 02:00 local). In summer, Eastern runs on EDT (UTC−4) and Central on CDT (UTC−5). The names change. The gap does not.
The only conversion you need
Forget the tool. Do the arithmetic in your head. If a meeting is set for 10:00 AM Eastern, show up at 9:00 AM Central. If a deadline is 5:00 PM Central, submit by 6:00 PM Eastern.
The common failure point with any converter is your device clock. If your computer is set to "America/New_York" but you are physically in Denver, the output will be wrong by exactly the difference between your location and New York. Check your system time zone before you trust any automated result.
Conversion table
| Eastern Time (ET) | Central Time (CT) |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 11:00 PM |
| 1:00 AM | 12:00 AM |
| 2:00 AM | 1:00 AM |
| 3:00 AM | 2:00 AM |
| 4:00 AM | 3:00 AM |
| 5:00 AM | 4:00 AM |
| 6:00 AM | 5:00 AM |
| 7:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| 8:00 AM | 7:00 AM |
| 9:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 10:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| 11:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM |
| 1:00 PM | 12:00 PM |
| 2:00 PM | 1:00 PM |
| 3:00 PM | 2:00 PM |
| 4:00 PM | 3:00 PM |
| 5:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| 6:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 7:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
| 8:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| 9:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| 10:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| 11:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
Read left to right: 3:00 PM ET equals 2:00 PM CT. Right to left: 8:00 AM CT equals 9:00 AM ET.
EDT to CDT in summer
Summer changes nothing between the two zones. Eastern shifts to EDT (UTC−4). Central shifts to CDT (UTC−5). The one-hour gap holds. A mistake people make every year: assuming the difference changes when daylight saving starts or ends. It never does.
Where the boundary cuts
The Eastern/Central line slices through the middle of the United States. Most of Indiana is Eastern, but the northwest corner around Gary and the southwest corner around Evansville are Central. Most of Florida is Eastern, but the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River is Central. Most of Michigan is Eastern, but four Upper Peninsula counties bordering Wisconsin are Central.
Schedule a call for 10:00 AM Eastern and a colleague in Gary, Indiana joins at 9:00 AM Central. Miss that hour and you miss the meeting.
New York (population 8,804,190) sits entirely in Eastern Time. Toronto (2,794,356) does too. But businesses operating across the Midwest must pick one zone for internal scheduling or commit to confusion.
How "8/7c" actually works
"8/7c" means the show airs at 8:00 PM Eastern and 7:00 PM Central simultaneously. Both audiences see the same content at the same absolute moment. The number before the slash is Eastern. The number after the slash is your local time if you live in Central Time. Ignore the first number. Watch the second.
Live events follow the same rule. NFL Sunday kickoffs at 1:00 PM ET and 4:25 PM ET air at 12:00 PM and 3:25 PM CT. The West Coast gets a tape-delayed feed or watches at the listed Eastern hour.
Stock markets and business hours
NYSE and NASDAQ open at 9:30 AM Eastern and close at 4:00 PM Eastern. That is 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM Central. Pre-market trading starts at 4:00 AM Eastern (3:00 AM Central). After-hours runs until 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 PM Central). Canadian markets on the TSX keep identical hours.
The London/New York forex overlap, the most liquid trading window of the day, runs 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM Eastern. In Central Time, that window is 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Clock change dates
Eastern Time next springs forward on Sunday 8 March 2026 at 02:00 local. Clocks move from EST (UTC−5) to EDT (UTC−4). Central Time moves at the same moment. The next fall back is Sunday 1 November 2026 at 02:00 local. Both zones shift together. The one-hour gap between them survives both changes untouched.
In 2027, clocks spring forward on Sunday 14 March and fall back on Sunday 7 November. Same rule applies.
Skip the permanent DST guesswork
The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, passed the US Senate in 2022 but stalled in the House. As of 2026, it has not become law. If enacted, Eastern Time would effectively become permanent EDT (UTC−4). Central Time would become permanent CDT (UTC−5). The one-hour gap would remain. Ontario passed legislation to match, but only if New York and Québec do the same. Québec has not decided. Do not set your calendar by proposed legislation. Use the dates above.