Convert ET to CT
CT = ET −1 h
CT is 1 hour behind ET all year.
ET · Eastern Time
7:13AMEST
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
CT · Central Time
6:13AMCST
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
ET to CT for every hour
Every hour of the ET day with the matching CT time, valid on any date. Until 1:00 AM ET, CT is still on the previous calendar day.
| ET | CT −1 h | 24-hour |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 11:00 PM −1 day | 00:00 → 23:00 |
| 1:00 AM | 12:00 AM | 01:00 → 00:00 |
| 2:00 AM | 1:00 AM | 02:00 → 01:00 |
| 3:00 AM | 2:00 AM | 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 4:00 AM | 3:00 AM | 04:00 → 03:00 |
| 5:00 AM | 4:00 AM | 05:00 → 04:00 |
| 6:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 06:00 → 05:00 |
| 7:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 07:00 → 06:00 |
| 8:00 AM | 7:00 AM | 08:00 → 07:00 |
| 9:00 AM | 8:00 AM | 09:00 → 08:00 |
| 10:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 10:00 → 09:00 |
| 11:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 11:00 → 10:00 |
| 12:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 12:00 → 11:00 |
| 1:00 PM | 12:00 PM | 13:00 → 12:00 |
| 2:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 14:00 → 13:00 |
| 3:00 PM | 2:00 PM | 15:00 → 14:00 |
| 4:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 16:00 → 15:00 |
| 5:00 PM | 4:00 PM | 17:00 → 16:00 |
| 6:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 18:00 → 17:00 |
| 7:00 PM | 6:00 PM | 19:00 → 18:00 |
| 8:00 PM | 7:00 PM | 20:00 → 19:00 |
| 9:00 PM | 8:00 PM | 21:00 → 20:00 |
| 10:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 22:00 → 21:00 |
| 11:00 PM | 10:00 PM | 23:00 → 22:00 |
Bold rows fall inside office hours (9:00 to 17:00) on both sides. The dot marks the current ET hour.
The ET times people look up most
| ET | CT −1 h |
|---|---|
| 6:57 AM | 5:57 AM |
| 6:57 PM | 5:57 PM |
| 9:30 AM | 8:30 AM |
| 9:30 PM | 8:30 PM |
| 1:15 AM | 12:15 AM |
| 1:15 PM | 12:15 PM |
| 6:15 AM | 5:15 AM |
| 6:15 PM | 5:15 PM |
Does the difference change during the year?
No. New York and Chicago both change their clocks, on the same dates and in the same direction, so the gap of 1 hour holds all year.
On the change nights themselves the two sides do not switch at the same instant. Each changes at its own local time, so for 1 hour in the early hours the gap between the local clocks is different: 2 h on Mar 14 and 0 h on Nov 7, 2027. That matters only for events scheduled in the middle of the night.
Converting ET to CT by hand
Take away 1 hour: 3:30 PM ET is 2:30 PM CT.
Going back from CT to ET, do the opposite: the CT to ET page has its own table.
Where the ET and CT working days overlap
Two 9:00–17:00 days share 7 hours: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET, which is 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM CT.
What ET and CT mean
Eastern Time
ET means whatever the clocks on the US East Coast show: EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
Central Time
CT means the current time in the US Central zone (Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis): CST (UTC−6) in winter and CDT (UTC−5) in summer.