Central Time

Central Time runs one hour behind Eastern Time. In winter it is Central Standard Time (CST) at UTC−6, and in summer it becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT) at UTC−5.

The abbreviation CST is ambiguous internationally: it is also used for China Standard Time and Cuba Standard Time. When writing to a global audience, prefer "Central Time (US)" or name a city.

Mexico abolished most daylight saving in 2022, so Mexico City no longer tracks US Central Time all year even though the two are sometimes equal.