Current Time in Chicago
What time is it in Chicago right now? See the current local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Central Time zone.
🌍 Current time in Chicago: See the live clock for Chicago, US (CT). Updated every second.
About time in Chicago
Chicago is in the Central Time zone (CST/CDT). The standard offset from UTC is UTC-06:00, shifting to UTC-05:00 during daylight saving time.
DST: 2nd Sunday March → 1st Sunday November. Clocks "spring forward" in spring and "fall back" in autumn, changing local time by 1 hour.
Chicago timezone facts
DST: 2nd Sunday March → 1st Sunday November
Time in Chicago
What time is it in Chicago right now? See the current local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Central Time zone.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Chicago in?
Chicago is in the CT time zone (IANA identifier: America/Chicago). The current local time is shown in the clock above and updates every second. As part of US, the local UTC offset shifts twice a year if the region observes daylight saving time.
Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?
Whether Chicago observes DST depends on the local rule for America/Chicago. The clock above automatically applies the current DST status, so the displayed time always reflects the actual local time — no manual adjustment needed. Major exceptions worldwide include most of Asia, Iceland, Russia, and parts of Australia, which stay on standard time year-round.
How do I convert Chicago time to my local time?
Use our time-zone converter (linked below) — pick Chicago as the source and your own city as the destination. The converter handles DST in both zones and shows side-by-side clocks plus the current offset between them.
Why might my computer show a different Chicago time?
Computer clocks rely on the operating system's timezone database (typically the IANA tzdata). If your OS has not been updated recently, it may use stale DST rules — common after countries change DST policies (Mexico 2022, parts of Australia 2008). Our clock pulls fresh tzdata and adjusts in real time.