Time in Texas, two zones, one state.

Most of Texas is on Central Time: Central Standard Time, CST, which is UTC-6, in winter and Central Daylight Time, CDT, UTC-5, in summer. Two counties in the far west, El Paso and Hudspeth, are on Mountain Time, one hour behind. So the answer to what time it is in Texas depends on where in Texas you mean. The big clock above is the Central clock, and the small clock under it is El Paso and Hudspeth County on Mountain Time. Both change their clocks in March and November.

How to use this Texas time page

1. Read the big clock: hours, minutes and seconds in Texas, then the date, the name of the zone and its UTC offset.
2. The cards under it show the time zone, the UTC offset, whether the place changes its clocks and when next, and the difference from your own time zone. If the page has guessed your zone wrong, pick the right one under Your place.
3. To plan a call, set a Date and a Time under What time is it there when it is. The line under the boxes gives the time in Texas, with the day. Use now sets your own current time.
4. The row of eight times below shows common hours of your day, every three hours, next to the matching time there.
5. On the right, tick 24-hour clock or switch Show seconds off. Copy the time copies one line you can paste into a message. Your choices stay in this browser.

The cards describe the Central clock. Use the El Paso clock under the big one for the west of the state.

What the official sources say

The boundary between the Central and Mountain zones is set in 49 CFR Part 71, section 71.7. Its part for Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico runs along the western boundary of Texas to the southeast corner of New Mexico, then west along the Texas-New Mexico boundary to the east line of Hudspeth County, and south along that line to the border with Mexico. That leaves El Paso County and Hudspeth County on the Mountain side. The rest of Texas is on the Central side. The US Department of Transportation's list of places that do not observe daylight saving time does not include Texas, and the IANA time zone database gives both Texas zones the US rule. Checked 18 Oct 2026.

When the clocks change

Under 49 CFR section 71.2, standard time moves ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. The cards above give the next change for Texas from your browser's data, with the time and the new abbreviation. In 2026 the dates are Sunday 8 March 2026 and Sunday 1 November 2026.

Texas compared with other places

The table shows how far the Central clock in Texas is ahead of or behind each place in the middle of January and July 2026.

El Paso is always one hour behind the rest of Texas, in winter and in summer. Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Texas, and New York is 1 hour ahead of it, in both seasons. Phoenix does not change its clocks, so the gap with Texas is 1 hour in winter, 2 hours in summer.

A worked example

Say it is 9:00 AM in Dallas on Tuesday 14 July 2026. Dallas is on CDT, UTC-5, so it is 2:00 PM UTC. El Paso is on MDT, UTC-6, so subtract 6 hours: it is 8:00 AM in El Paso. On a winter day, 9:00 AM CST is 3:00 PM UTC and El Paso on MST, UTC-7, is 8:00 AM. A call with El Paso therefore starts an hour earlier on its clock than on the Central one, in any season.

A drive across the state

Texas is wide, and driving from Dallas to El Paso takes you across the zone line in the far west, at the east edge of Hudspeth County. Count a time in El Paso County or Hudspeth County in Mountain time, and a time anywhere east of that line in Central time. When you book a time in the far west of the state, ask which clock it is on.

CST or CT

CST is only right in winter, because in summer the Central clock is on CDT. If you need one name that is right all year, write CT. For pairs with other zones see CST to EST.

Sources, checked 18 Oct 2026. 49 CFR Part 71; US Department of Transportation, Daylight Saving Time; the IANA time zone database (version 2026e).