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BlogHow it works

CST to EST Converter

Pick a Central time and a date to see the time on the US East Coast. Central and Eastern change their clocks on the same days, so the converter adds one hour almost every time.

Central Time

CSTCentral Time

ESTEastern Time

––:––

Central to Eastern is always one hour forward: CST + 1 = EST in winter, CDT + 1 = EDT in summer.

Central hours in Eastern Time

CST timeEST/EDT time
12:00 AM1:00 AM
1:00 AM2:00 AM
2:00 AM3:00 AM
3:00 AM4:00 AM
4:00 AM5:00 AM
5:00 AM6:00 AM
6:00 AM7:00 AM
7:00 AM8:00 AM
8:00 AM9:00 AM
9:00 AM10:00 AM
10:00 AM11:00 AM
11:00 AM12:00 PM
12:00 PM1:00 PM
1:00 PM2:00 PM
2:00 PM3:00 PM
3:00 PM4:00 PM
4:00 PM5:00 PM
5:00 PM6:00 PM
6:00 PM7:00 PM
7:00 PM8:00 PM
8:00 PM9:00 PM
9:00 PM10:00 PM
10:00 PM11:00 PM
11:00 PM12:00 AM+1 next day
Every Central hour with the Eastern time beside it. +1 marks a time that falls on the next day in the East.

Two zones, one calendar

US time zones and daylight saving fall under federal law, and the US Department of Transportation is the agency in charge. Every zone that uses daylight saving changes on the same two Sundays: forward on the second Sunday in March, back on the first Sunday in November.

That is why the Central to Eastern answer never changes with the season. The only wrinkle is the night of each switch: clocks change at 2:00 AM local time, so the East moves an hour before Central does. For that one hour in March the two clocks are two hours apart, and for one hour in November they show the same time.

States on both sides of the line

Tennessee

Nashville and Memphis are on Central Time; Knoxville and Chattanooga are on Eastern.

Kentucky

Louisville and Lexington are on Eastern; Bowling Green and Paducah in the west use Central.

Indiana

Most of the state is Eastern, but the northwest corner near Chicago and the southwest around Evansville are Central.

Florida

Peninsular Florida is Eastern; the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, including Pensacola, is Central.

Because the step is a single hour, the main risk is not the math but the label. An invite from Chicago that just says 9:00 AM could mean 9:00 or 10:00 in New York, depending on whose clock the sender had in mind. Add CT or ET to every time, or name the city, and the question never comes up.

For the opposite direction use EST to CST. The live Washington, DC clock shows Eastern Time now.

CST to EST questions

Is Eastern Time one hour ahead of Central?

Yes. 10:00 AM in Chicago is 11:00 AM in New York, both in standard time (CST and EST) and in daylight time (CDT and EDT).

What is 7:30 PM CST in EST?

8:30 PM EST. In summer, 7:30 PM CDT is 8:30 PM EDT.

Is Mexico City still on the same time as Chicago?

Only in winter. Mexico stopped using daylight saving in 2022, so Mexico City stays at UTC−6 and is one hour behind Chicago from March to November.

Is Detroit on Eastern or Central Time?

Detroit and almost all of Michigan are on Eastern Time. Four counties in the Upper Peninsula that border Wisconsin use Central Time.