Updating current time…
Illinois, USACST
UTC−6
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CT
UTC−6
same time
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Quick answers

Selected conversion

6:00 am06:00 CST (UTC-6), Nov 9, 2026 = 6:00 am06:00 CT (UTC-6), Nov 9, 2026

Chicago and CT have the same local time.

How the time difference changes

Chicago and CT have the same time year-round.

Working hours of 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in Chicago correspond to 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in CT.Working hours of 09:00 to 18:00 in Chicago correspond to 09:00 to 18:00 in CT.

Compare Chicago time with CT time, including current local time, UTC offsets, time difference, daylight saving changes, working hours, and shareable meeting times.

Time Difference

CST (Central Standard Time) and Central Time have the same local time.
6:00 am06:00 in Chicago, IL, USA is 6:00 am06:00 in CT

Chicago to CT call time
Best time for a conference call or a meeting is between 9am-6pm09:00-18:00 in Chicago which corresponds to 9am-6pm09:00-18:00 in CT.

6:00 am06:00 CST (Central Standard Time) (Chicago, IL, USA). Offset UTC -6:00 hours
6:00 am06:00 Central Time (CT). Offset UTC -6:00 hours

6:00 am06:00 Chicago, IL, USA / 6:00 am06:00 CT

Choose an hour to update the converter. Day labels such as “next day” or “+1” are relative to the selected date in the first column. Use Up and Down arrow keys, Home or End to move between hours, then Enter or Space to select.

Hourly time comparison
Chicago, IL, USACT
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Chicago Time Zone and Facts

Time Zone

Abbreviation / Offset
CST – Central Standard Time, UTC-6 (now)
CDT – Central Daylight Time, UTC-5 (daylight saving time)
Daylight Saving Time Starts
123456789101112Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 amSunday, March 14, 2027 at 02:00: clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 am03:00 (CDT). DST starts on the 2nd Sunday of March each year. Also called Spring Forward or Summer Time.
Daylight Saving Time Ends
123456789101112Sunday, November 7, 2027 at 2:00 amSunday, November 7, 2027 at 02:00: clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 am01:00 (CST). DST ends on the 1st Sunday of November each year. Also called Fall Back or Winter Time.

Chicago Facts

Country
USA
State
Illinois
Alternative Names
CHI, Cekaga, Chi-ka-ko, Chi-kâ-kô, Chicago, Chicagu, Chikago, Chykaga, Cikaga, Cikago, Cikaqo, E-Chicago, Kikako, Shikago, Sicagum, Sikago, The Windy City, Tsikago, Windy City, chikhako, cikago, cikako, shikago, shkagw, shykaghw, shykagw, shykajw, shyqgw, sikago, sikkagea, syqgw, zhi jia ge, Çikago, Çikaqo, Ĉikago, Čikaga, Čikago, Čikāga, Čėkaga, Şikago, Σικάγο, Чикаго, Чикаґо, Чыкага, Չիկագո, שיקאגא, שיקגו, شيكاجو, شيكاغو, شکاگو, شیکاگو, شیکاگۆ, ܫܝܩܓܘ, शिकागो, শিকাগো, ਸ਼ਿਕਾਗੋ, சிகாகோ, చికాగో, ಶಿಕಾಗೊ, ഷിക്കാഗോ, ชิคาโก, ရှီကာဂိုမြို့, ჩიკაგო, ሺካጎ, ᓰᖄᑯ, Ṣìkágò, シカゴ, 芝加哥, 시카고, 𐍃𐌾𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌲𐍉
Population
2,664,452
Currency
Dollar (USD)
Geographic Coordinates
41° 51' N Latitude / 87° 39' W Longitude
International Dialing Code
+1
More About Chicago

Central Time

Central Time (CT) is a general term used to describe the areas that observe either the Central Standard Time (CST) or Central Daylight Time (CDT) in the United States and Canada. CT is not static but switches between CDT and CST.

Territories observing the time zone are primarily in North and Central America. It runs through several Mexican and U.S. states, as well as several Canadian provinces and Central American countries.

Countries using this time zone: Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States

Principal Cities: The largest city in the CT time zone is Mexico City in Mexico, with about 12.294 million people. Other major cities in this time zone include Chicago, Houston, Puebla, Santiago de Querétaro.

French: HNC - Heure Normale du Centre

Spanish: CT - Tiempo Central Estándar, CT - Zona Centro

Map of the areas on Central Time (CT)
CT all year CT part of the year

Today all shaded areas are on CT.

CT representations, usage and related time zones

W3C/ISO-8601: International standard covering representation and exchange of dates and time-related data
  • -06 - basic short
  • -0600 - basic
  • -06:00 - extended
Email/RFC-2822: Internet Message Format Date Standard, typically used for timestamps in email headers
  • -0600 - sign character (-) followed by a four digit time providing hours (06) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates an offset of six hours to the west of the zero meridian.
Military/NATO: Used by the U.S. military, Chinese military and others
  • Sierra - Military abbreviation for CT
  • S - short form of 'Sierra'
Time zones with the GMT -6 offset:
  • CST - Central Standard Time
  • CT - Central Time
  • MDT - Mountain Daylight Time
  • EAST - Easter Island Standard Time
  • GALT - Galapagos Time
  • S - Sierra Time Zone