Geography · United States

Which states are in the Eastern Time Zone?

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. are entirely on Eastern Time. Five more – Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee – are split between Eastern and Central Time.

Entirely on ET
17 states + D.C.
Split with Central
5 states
Now on Eastern Time
--:-- ET
Now on Central Time
--:-- CT

Which states are entirely on Eastern Time?

The whole of the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Georgia is Eastern, along with Ohio and West Virginia inland: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. None of them has a single county on another zone, and all switch between EST (UTC−5) and EDT (UTC−4) on the same Sundays.

Together they hold the national capital, the New York financial markets and most of the East Coast's large cities, which is why national schedules are so often quoted in ET. The live Eastern Time clock shows the time in all of them right now.

The zone's reference meridian, 75°W, runs just east of central Philadelphia. States near or east of it see the sun early on Eastern Time, states far to the west see it late: on December 21, 2026 the sun rises at about 7:10 AM in Boston but 7:39 AM in Atlanta and 7:50 AM in Columbus, Ohio.

States entirely on Eastern Time
StateCapitalOther major cities
ConnecticutHartfordBridgeport, New Haven
DelawareDoverWilmington
GeorgiaAtlantaSavannah, Augusta
MaineAugustaPortland, Bangor
MarylandAnnapolisBaltimore
MassachusettsBostonWorcester, Springfield
New HampshireConcordManchester, Nashua
New JerseyTrentonNewark, Jersey City
New YorkAlbanyNew York City, Buffalo
North CarolinaRaleighCharlotte, Greensboro
OhioColumbusCleveland, Cincinnati
PennsylvaniaHarrisburgPhiladelphia, Pittsburgh
Rhode IslandProvidenceWarwick
South CarolinaColumbiaCharleston, Greenville
VermontMontpelierBurlington
VirginiaRichmondVirginia Beach, Norfolk
West VirginiaCharlestonHuntington, Morgantown
District of ColumbiaWashington, D.C.

Which states are split between Eastern and Central Time?

In each of these states the line follows county borders or rivers set out in federal regulation, 49 CFR § 71.5.

Florida

ET The peninsula and the eastern Panhandle, including Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami.

CT Nine counties west of the Apalachicola River and northern Gulf County: Pensacola, Panama City.

Indiana

ET 80 of 92 counties, including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend.

CT Six counties near Chicago (Gary) and six around Evansville.

Kentucky

ET 79 counties, including Louisville, Lexington and the capital, Frankfort.

CT 41 western counties: Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah.

Michigan

ET Everything except four counties, including Detroit, Lansing and most of the Upper Peninsula.

CT Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson and Menominee counties on the Wisconsin border.

Tennessee

ET Most of East Tennessee, including Knoxville, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities.

CT Middle and West Tennessee, including Memphis and Nashville – the only split state whose capital is on Central Time.

Where are the Eastern Time states on the map?

Amber: state capitals on Eastern Time. Violet: Central Time cities in the split states and capitals of neighbouring Central Time states. The dashed line is the 75°W meridian.

Full time zone map of North America →

Which neighbouring states use Central Time?

Six Central Time states border the Eastern states or the split states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. Only two of them share a land border with Eastern Time territory – Illinois along western Indiana, and Alabama along Georgia. Wisconsin touches only Michigan's four Central Time counties, and Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi touch only the Central Time parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Alabama–Georgia line is the one place where the official boundary is widely ignored. Phenix City, Smiths Station, Valley and Lanett in eastern Alabama are legally on Central Time, but many residents work across the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia, and the towns keep Eastern Time by local custom.

Going the other way, a trip from Atlanta to Birmingham, from Indianapolis to Chicago or from Knoxville to Nashville crosses the line, so the clock falls back one hour heading west. The time zone boundaries guide traces the whole line county by county.

Why did the Eastern zone end up with these states?

The zones began as railroad time on November 18, 1883, and became federal law with the Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918, which told the Interstate Commerce Commission to draw the boundaries with regard for "the convenience of commerce". That first federal line ran well east of today's. All of Indiana started out on Central Time, Louisville kept Central Time until 1961, and roughly a third of Georgia ran on Central Time until a 1941 state law put the whole state on Eastern, with the railroads following that June.

Since the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the US Department of Transportation has handled boundary changes, one petition at a time. Most decisions have moved the line west, as towns tied to eastern markets, broadcasters and employers asked for Eastern Time: Starke County, Indiana in 1991, Wayne County, Kentucky in 2000. The exception was Indiana's 2006 rule, which moved eight counties to Central Time; six of them were back on Eastern Time by November 2007.

The outcome is a zone that stretches far beyond its solar centre: Indianapolis, at 86.1°W, is closer to the Central meridian than to 75°W, yet it keeps Eastern Time. The same UTC−5 offset is used well beyond the US; the UTC−5 page lists the Caribbean and Latin American countries that share it.

Which parts of Canada are on Eastern Time?

North of the border, most of Ontario and Quebec and eastern Nunavut use Eastern Time on the same daylight saving dates as the US, so Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal always match New York. Quebec's Magdalen Islands and the far eastern Lower North Shore use Atlantic Time instead.

Western Canada rewrote its clock rules in 2026. Manitoba and northwestern Ontario west of 90°W, around Kenora, did not fall back on November 1, 2026 and now stay at UTC−5 all year – the same clock as Toronto in winter, one hour behind it in summer. Ontario's 2020 Time Amendment Act, which would put the province on permanent daylight time, is still conditional and not in force. Details are on Eastern Time in Canada.

Frequently asked questions

Is Puerto Rico on Eastern Time?

No. Puerto Rico uses Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, all year and does not observe daylight saving time. Federal regulation (49 CFR 71.4) expressly leaves it out of the Eastern zone. In summer its clocks match EDT; in winter they are one hour ahead of EST.

Why is all of Maine on Eastern Time if it reaches east of 67°30′W?

The Eastern zone is defined as the area west of 67°30′W, but the same regulation, 49 CFR 71.4, adds that it includes all of the State of Maine. That keeps Lubec and Eastport, near 67.0°W, on the same clock as Portland instead of on Atlantic Time.

Do all Eastern Time states observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Every state in the Eastern zone switches between EST and EDT, Indiana statewide since April 2, 2006. The only US states that skip daylight saving time, Arizona and Hawaii, are far outside the Eastern zone.

Can a state change its own time zone?

Not by itself. Only Congress or the US Department of Transportation can move a zone boundary. A state legislature or county government petitions DOT, which decides under the convenience-of-commerce test after a public comment period. A state can choose to stay on standard time all year, but permanent daylight time needs an act of Congress.

Explore

Florida

The Panhandle counties west of the Apalachicola on Central Time.

Indiana

Twelve Central Time counties and the 2006–2007 switches.

Kentucky

All 41 western counties on Central Time, by name.

Michigan

The four Upper Peninsula counties on Wisconsin's clock.

Tennessee

East Tennessee on Eastern Time, Nashville on Central.