Convert EST to CST Eastern Standard Time ↔ Central Standard Time Free Online Secure
Type a time in EST and read it in CST straight away. The offset is −1 h, the arithmetic wraps at midnight, and the answer says which day it lands on.
Nothing uploaded
Through the day — Convert EST to CST (Eastern Standard Time ↔ Central Standard Time)
| EST | CST |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 23:00 |
| 03:00 | 02:00 |
| 06:00 | 05:00 |
| 09:00 | 08:00 |
| 12:00 | 11:00 |
| 15:00 | 14:00 |
| 18:00 | 17:00 |
| 21:00 | 20:00 |
Where these units come from
Until the middle of the nineteenth century every town kept its own noon, set by the sun overhead, and nobody minded that the next town was four minutes behind. Railways ended that: a timetable cannot be written for a hundred local noons. Britain put its railways on Greenwich time in 1847, and in 1884 the International Meridian Conference in Washington chose Greenwich as the prime meridian and sketched the twenty-four-hour scheme we still use. Greenwich Mean Time was the world's reference until 1972, when Coordinated Universal Time replaced it: UTC is kept by atomic clocks and tied back to the turning Earth by leap seconds. The abbreviations on this page name standard time — the winter setting — which is why each one is a fixed number of hours rather than something that drifts through the year.
Where you meet them
A time zone becomes real the moment two people in different places have to agree on one moment: a call between offices, a flight that lands before it took off, a market that opens while you are asleep, a deadline written in somebody else's afternoon. Server logs, train and flight schedules and anything stamped with a time are kept in UTC precisely so that the question can always be settled, no matter whose clock was on the wall.
Questions people ask
What about summer time?
The offsets here are standard-time offsets, the ones a zone keeps in winter. Where summer time is observed, the same places move one hour further on for part of the year and take a different name: Central European Time becomes Central European Summer Time, Eastern Standard Time becomes Eastern Daylight Time. The switching dates are not the same in every country, and the two hemispheres change in opposite months, so for a date inside a summer-time period add an hour to whichever side observes it.
Why isn't every difference a whole number of hours?
Because offsets are decided by governments, not by geometry. India is half an hour off the hour, at UTC+05:30; Nepal is three quarters, at UTC+05:45; the Chatham Islands are at UTC+12:45. Any of these can be changed by law, and several countries have moved their offset within living memory.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
One hour back from the East to the Middle
A release schedule from a New York firm says the figures come out at 3:00 p.m. ET. A reader in Chicago, Dallas or Houston asks what that is on a local clock, and the answer is to convert EST to CST. It is the shortest rule among the American zones: subtract one hour. 3:00 p.m. EST is 2:00 p.m. CST, 9:30 a.m. EST is 8:30 a.m. CST, and 12:20 a.m. EST is 11:20 p.m. CST on the previous evening. The gap stays at one hour all year, because both regions move their clocks on the same dates.
The page below states the rule, gives lookup tables and profiles the two zones. It then turns to examples from commodity markets, football, spaceflight, parcels and railways, and to the Mexican exception, where the clocks no longer change. The calculation runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to a server.
How to convert EST to CST
Subtract one hour
EST is UTC−5 and CST is UTC−6, so Central time is one hour behind Eastern. Subtract 1 from the Eastern time. If the result is negative, add 24 and use the previous date. Only the hour from 00:00 to 00:59 EST falls on the earlier day.
Eight readings
00:30 EST is 23:30 CST the day before. 06:15 EST is 05:15 CST. 09:00 EST is 08:00 CST. 12:00 EST is 11:00 CST. 15:45 EST is 14:45 CST. 18:00 EST is 17:00 CST. 21:30 EST is 20:30 CST. 23:45 EST is 22:45 CST. Only the first changes date.
In summer
In summer, EDT against CDT is still one hour. 10:00 a.m. EDT is 9:00 a.m. CDT. The number does not change; only the labels do.
Eastern time
Cities and habits
Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, is the winter clock of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto and Montreal. In summer these cities move to EDT, UTC−4. National announcements simply say “ET”.
The press default
National networks, large banks and the exchanges set their schedules by Eastern time, so readers in the Midwest have to convert EST to CST almost every day.
Central time
Who uses it
Central Standard Time, UTC−6, is the winter clock of Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Nashville, Winnipeg and Mexico. In summer the American states move to CDT, UTC−5.
Exceptions
Mexico stopped changing its clocks in 2022 and stays on UTC−6 all year. Compared with New York, the gap is therefore one hour in winter and two in summer. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan also stays on UTC−6.
The working day on two dials
Office hours
A working day of 09:00 to 17:00 in the east is 08:00 to 16:00 on the Central clock. The overlap is seven hours, from 10:00 to 17:00 EST, or 09:00 to 16:00 CST. The two regions work almost at the same time.
The lunch hour
Noon in the east is 11:00 a.m. in the centre, early for many people. When eastern colleagues eat, those in Chicago have another hour of work before their break, and when Chicagoans eat, the easterners are back at their desks.
In the air
A flight from New York to Chicago that departs at 09:00 EST and takes nearly three hours lands at 11:45 EST, which is 10:45 CST. The ticket shows 09:00 and 10:45, so the flight looks shorter than it is.
The Chicago commodity pits
Grain trading hours
The grain exchanges in Chicago keep Central time. A session that opens at 8:30 a.m. CT opens at 9:30 a.m. ET, exactly when New York equities begin. Anyone who tries to convert EST to CST for every line of the schedule sees that the two markets overlap almost completely.
Agricultural reports
A federal crop report released at 12:00 p.m. ET appears at 11:00 a.m. CT. Farmers in Iowa and Illinois read it before lunch.
Football in the Midwest
Sundays at noon
A Sunday game that starts at 12:00 p.m. CT starts at 1:00 p.m. ET. Midwestern teams often play at that hour, so eastern fans begin their afternoon later than the fans in the centre.
Friday nights in Texas
High-school football in Texas is played on Friday evenings, usually from 7:00 p.m. CT, which is 8:00 p.m. ET. Online streams reach eastern viewers at 8:00 p.m., after dinner.
Space launches and mission control
Florida and Houston
Rockets lift off from Florida on Eastern time, but mission control sits in Houston on Central time. A launch at 9:00 a.m. ET is a launch at 8:00 a.m. CT. The engineers in Texas start their working day earlier than the crowd on the Florida coast.
Press releases
Official statements carry the issuer’s local time. A “convert EST to CST” calculation saves you from counting on your fingers when you read a statement from Houston.
Music in Nashville
Evening shows
A concert in Nashville that starts at 7:00 p.m. CT starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. Radio broadcasts from Tennessee are rebroadcast on the East Coast an hour later.
Award shows
Award ceremonies held in Nashville are broadcast live from 7:00 p.m. CT, which is 8:00 p.m. on a New York clock. A “convert EST to CST” calculation tells you at once how late the evening runs.
The Chicago marathon
The morning start
The Chicago marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. CT, which is 8:30 a.m. ET. The elite runners go first, and those at the back reach the start line almost an hour later.
Watching from home
A family in Boston waiting for a runner on a four-hour pace should look at the clock at 12:30 p.m. ET, not 12:30 CT.
Online classes and deadlines
Lecture times
An online lecture scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET is at 9:00 a.m. CT. Students in the Midwest log in an hour earlier than their classmates in the east.
Submission cut-offs
A deadline of 11:59 p.m. ET closes at 10:59 p.m. CT. A student in New York who thinks the deadline is midnight on their own clock has in fact until 10:59 p.m. in Texas, and one in Texas who counts by Eastern time risks losing an hour.
Mexico: one hour in winter, two in summer
What changed in 2022
Mexico gave up daylight saving in 2022. Mexico City stays on UTC−6 in July, when New York is on UTC−4. The gap is then two hours.
Examples
In winter, 15:00 EST is 14:00 in Mexico City. In summer, 15:00 EDT is 13:00 there. Anyone fixing a call with Mexico should convert EST to CST for the actual date, not just the day of the week.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Afternoon parades
Parades in New Orleans often begin at 1:00 p.m. CT, which is 2:00 p.m. ET. Online broadcasts for the east therefore start an hour later.
The evening balls
A ball that starts at 8:00 p.m. CT starts at 9:00 p.m. ET. For a viewer in New York the programme ends near midnight.
Trains between the two cities
The overnight service
An overnight train from New York to Chicago that leaves at 15:40 EST and takes nearly twenty hours reaches Chicago the next morning at about 09:40 CST. The ticket only shows local times.
Station boards
Arrival boards use local time at each station. A traveller crossing the zone line moves the watch one hour, forward or back.
The four zones from the east
The ladder westward
From Eastern time subtract one hour for Central, two for Mountain and three for Pacific. Alaska is four hours behind and Hawaii five in winter.
One moment in four cities
At noon in New York it is 11:00 a.m. in Chicago, 10:00 a.m. in Denver and 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. An invitation that spells out all four spares the reader any convert EST to CST.
Dated examples
January
On Wednesday 14 January, 20:00 EST is 19:00 CST. Both regions are on standard time.
March
On Wednesday 18 March, 20:00 EDT is 19:00 CDT. Both moved their clocks on 8 March, so the gap stayed at one hour.
August
On Wednesday 12 August, 20:00 EDT is 19:00 CDT. The labels are summer labels; the figure is the same.
November
On Wednesday 4 November, 20:00 EST is 19:00 CST. Both went back to standard time on 1 November.
The changeover Sunday
Two different instants
Each zone changes its clock at 2:00 a.m. on its own dial, so the east and the centre do not make the jump at the same moment. On 8 March, for one hour between 2:00 a.m. EST and 2:00 a.m. CST, the gap is two hours, because the east is already on EDT. On 1 November, for one hour, the gap is zero.
A safety rule
When you schedule something on such a night, write the full date and the city. At any other time a “convert EST to CST” calculation gives exactly one hour.
Weather warnings on the Plains
Spring storms
Tornado warnings are issued in the local time of the area concerned. A warning valid until 9:00 p.m. CT expires at 10:00 p.m. ET. An eastern reader following events on television must add one hour to each time in the bulletin.
Reading a bulletin
Every bulletin shows an issue time and an expiry time, both local. If you convert EST to CST for both, you know how long the warning remains in force and when the alert is lifted.
Parcels and shipping cut-offs
Order deadlines
A shop in Chicago promises same-day dispatch for orders received by 3:00 p.m. CT. For a customer in New York that means 4:00 p.m. ET. Someone who orders at 3:30 p.m. ET is already an hour late.
Courier pick-ups
Couriers collect from depots at fixed local times. A pick-up at 5:00 p.m. CT is at 6:00 p.m. ET. If you ship from an eastern office to a central warehouse, count by the warehouse’s clock, not your own.
Clock changes: what they do to the gap
The 2026 calendar
Because EST and CST follow the same calendar, the gap of 1 hour does not move; in summer they are called EDT and CDT.
What to do about it
For 2026 the dates are 29 March and 25 October in Europe and 8 March and 1 November in North America. The sum behind a request to convert EST to CST is the same on every date.
Hour-by-hour conversion chart
EST to CST, every hour
00:00 EST becomes 23:00 CST (previous day). 01:00 EST becomes 00:00 CST. 02:00 EST becomes 01:00 CST. 03:00 EST becomes 02:00 CST. 04:00 EST becomes 03:00 CST. 05:00 EST becomes 04:00 CST. 06:00 EST becomes 05:00 CST. 07:00 EST becomes 06:00 CST. 08:00 EST becomes 07:00 CST. 09:00 EST becomes 08:00 CST. 10:00 EST becomes 09:00 CST. 11:00 EST becomes 10:00 CST. 12:00 EST becomes 11:00 CST. 13:00 EST becomes 12:00 CST. 14:00 EST becomes 13:00 CST. 15:00 EST becomes 14:00 CST. 16:00 EST becomes 15:00 CST. 17:00 EST becomes 16:00 CST. 18:00 EST becomes 17:00 CST. 19:00 EST becomes 18:00 CST. 20:00 EST becomes 19:00 CST. 21:00 EST becomes 20:00 CST. 22:00 EST becomes 21:00 CST. 23:00 EST becomes 22:00 CST.
A short guide
Each entry converts one full hour from EST to CST, flagging any change of date. If you only need to convert EST to CST once, the form above is quicker; for many readings, keep this chart at hand. No half-hour is involved in this pair, so the minute figures never change.
Readings at half past the hour
EST at :30 and the matching CST time
00:30 EST becomes 23:30 CST (previous day). 01:30 EST becomes 00:30 CST. 02:30 EST becomes 01:30 CST. 03:30 EST becomes 02:30 CST. 04:30 EST becomes 03:30 CST. 05:30 EST becomes 04:30 CST. 06:30 EST becomes 05:30 CST. 07:30 EST becomes 06:30 CST. 08:30 EST becomes 07:30 CST. 09:30 EST becomes 08:30 CST. 10:30 EST becomes 09:30 CST. 11:30 EST becomes 10:30 CST. 12:30 EST becomes 11:30 CST. 13:30 EST becomes 12:30 CST. 14:30 EST becomes 13:30 CST. 15:30 EST becomes 14:30 CST. 16:30 EST becomes 15:30 CST. 17:30 EST becomes 16:30 CST. 18:30 EST becomes 17:30 CST. 19:30 EST becomes 18:30 CST. 20:30 EST becomes 19:30 CST. 21:30 EST becomes 20:30 CST. 22:30 EST becomes 21:30 CST. 23:30 EST becomes 22:30 CST.
When to use it
Use these rows for events that begin on the half hour. They follow the same arithmetic as the whole-hour table and spare you another calculation.
Ten readings with minutes
Examples from EST to CST
01:05 EST becomes 00:05 CST. 03:20 EST becomes 02:20 CST. 05:50 EST becomes 04:50 CST. 07:35 EST becomes 06:35 CST. 10:10 EST becomes 09:10 CST. 13:25 EST becomes 12:25 CST. 16:40 EST becomes 15:40 CST. 19:55 EST becomes 18:55 CST. 22:15 EST becomes 21:15 CST. 23:05 EST becomes 22:05 CST.
What to notice
These are less round examples, with minutes. No half-hour is involved in this pair, so the minute figures never change.
Morning, afternoon or night?
From EST to CST, with the time of day
06:00 EST becomes 05:00 CST (early morning). 08:00 EST becomes 07:00 CST (early morning). 10:00 EST becomes 09:00 CST (morning). 12:00 EST becomes 11:00 CST (morning). 14:00 EST becomes 13:00 CST (around midday). 16:00 EST becomes 15:00 CST (afternoon). 18:00 EST becomes 17:00 CST (afternoon). 20:00 EST becomes 19:00 CST (evening). 22:00 EST becomes 21:00 CST (evening).
Why it matters
A conversion is only half the answer: the other half is whether the result is a sensible hour. After you convert EST to CST, check the bracketed word.
Before you convert EST to CST: a short checklist
First
Confirm the zones
In Australia EST means UTC+10; on this page it means the Eastern zone of North America at UTC−5. Three countries share the letters CST; only the North American one, UTC−6, is used on this page.
Use a 24-hour clock
The 24-hour clock avoids a.m. and p.m. slips, so rewrite 4:30 p.m. as 16:30 before anything else. For example, 09:15 EST becomes 08:15 CST.
After the sum
The operation
Subtract 1 hour. If the result passes midnight, correct the date: readings before 01:00 fall on the previous date.
A second example
Try a later hour: 22:40 EST is 21:40 CST.
Mistakes when you convert EST to CST
Adding instead of subtracting
CST is behind EST, so the answer should be smaller than the starting hour. A larger number means an addition slipped in.
Losing the date
A EST time before 01:00 moves to the previous date. Forgetting to move the date leaves the result 24 hours wrong.
Mixing up labels in summer
In summer the labels change to EDT and CDT, but the gap between the two clocks does not. A new label is not a reason to change the arithmetic.
Confusing the abbreviation
Check that an EST in a schedule is American or Canadian rather than Australian before you convert. Check which CST is meant: China and Cuba use the same letters, but here it is America’s Central Standard Time at UTC−6.
Quick answers
What is the difference between EST and CST?
1 hour, and CST is behind EST.
Which sum applies when I convert EST to CST?
Subtract 1 hour from the EST time, then fix the date if the result passes midnight.
What is 21:45 EST in CST?
20:45 CST.
Does the answer change during the year?
No. The relationship is the same all year.
Is my input stored or uploaded?
No. Nothing leaves the page.
More time zone converters
Other converters: Convert EST to WET, Convert EST to UTC, Convert WET to CST, Convert UTC to CST, Convert CST to CET, Convert CET to EST, Convert IST to PST, Convert EET to IST, Convert EET to CST. And the reverse of this one: Convert CST to EST.
To sum up: convert EST to CST by one rule (subtract 1 hour) and a glance at the calendar. The work is done on your device.