EST to CST Converter
Convert Eastern Time to Central Time for any date and time. Central is exactly one hour behind Eastern — in winter, in summer, all year — and this converter proves it for the date you pick, daylight saving included.
Convert Eastern Time to Central Time
It opens on the current Eastern Time time — pick any date and time to convert it.
Your converted time will appear here.
The EST to CST difference, exactly
The gap, the day change and the offsets — shown with every result.
Always one hour
10:00 AM in New York is 9:00 AM in Chicago in January and in July alike.
Date-aware
Real New York and Chicago times are used, so daylight saving is right on every date.
Both directions
Swap converts Central back to Eastern without retyping anything.
About EST to CST conversion
Eastern Time and Central Time are neighbouring US time zones, and the rule between them is the simplest in the country: Central is one hour behind Eastern, always. When it is 1:00 PM in New York, Toronto or Miami, it is noon in Chicago, Dallas and Houston. Both zones observe daylight saving on the same dates — Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4) and Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC-5) run from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November — so the one-hour gap survives the clock changes untouched. This converter uses the real times in New York and Chicago rather than fixed offsets, which keeps it correct even on the two transition days a year when fixed charts can mislead.
Most conversions run east to west for a reason: announcements, broadcasts and release times are usually published in Eastern. An earnings call at 4:30 PM Eastern is 3:30 PM Central; a show that airs at 9:00 PM Eastern is on at 8:00 PM Central; a 9:00 AM Eastern stand-up means 8:00 AM for the Chicago office. The one trap is the start of the day — between midnight and 1:00 AM Eastern it is still the previous evening in Central, and the converter flags the day change for you.
On any day of the year:
| EST | CST |
|---|---|
| 12:30 AM | 11:30 PM (previous day) |
| 6:00 AM | 5:00 AM |
| 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM |
| 6:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| 11:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
Frequently asked questions
The difference, daylight saving and the cases people trip over.
What is the time difference between EST and CST?
One hour. Central Time is one hour behind Eastern Time — EST is UTC-5 and CST is UTC-6. The gap stays one hour during daylight saving too (EDT is UTC-4, CDT is UTC-5), because both zones change clocks on the same dates.
How do I convert EST to CST?
Subtract one hour. 10:00 AM EST is 9:00 AM CST, and 5:30 PM EST is 4:30 PM CST. Between midnight and 1:00 AM EST the result falls on the previous day in CST. This page does it for any date and shows the working.
Does the EST to CST difference change in summer?
No. In summer the zones are called EDT and CDT and both sit one hour closer to UTC, so the difference between them is still exactly one hour.
Which cities are in EST and CST?
Eastern includes New York, Toronto, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and Montreal. Central includes Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Minneapolis, St Louis and Winnipeg.
Why are so many US times announced in Eastern?
Eastern is the reference zone for US finance and national media — markets, networks and most national announcements quote Eastern first, which is why converting out of it (to Central, Mountain or Pacific) is the common direction.
Is anything I enter stored?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using its built-in time-zone data; nothing is uploaded or saved.