Time in Houston
The current local time and date in Houston, its time zone, and a converter to your own time.
Detecting your time zone to suggest the best hour to call…
Houston runs on Central Time with the rest of eastern Texas, switching between CST (UTC-6) and CDT (UTC-5).
Houston uses UTC-6 in winter (standard time) and shifts to UTC-5 in summer when daylight saving time is active.
Compare to your time zone
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Compare Houston with another city
Houston & London · Houston & New York · Houston & Tokyo · Houston & Los Angeles · Houston & Dubai · All world clocks →
See also: Population of United States
Other cities in the Central Time zone
Time in Chicago · Time in Texas · Time in Illinois · Time in Missouri · Time in Tennessee
Popular time comparisons
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FAQ
What time is it in Houston right now?
Houston is on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 during daylight saving time in summer, which is 6 hours behind UTC. So when it is 12:00 UTC, the local time in Houston is 06:00 in winter and 07:00 in summer. The live clock at the top of this page applies that offset to the current moment and refreshes every second.
What time zone is Houston in?
Houston uses the America/Chicago time zone, shown as CDT. Houston uses UTC-6 in winter (standard time) and shifts to UTC-5 in summer when daylight saving time is active. The "compare to your time zone" section above converts any Houston time into your own local time instantly.
Does Houston observe daylight saving time?
Yes — Houston does observe daylight saving time. Clocks move forward one hour in summer, taking Houston from UTC-6 to UTC-5, and back again for winter. That means the difference between Houston and any place holding a fixed offset changes by an hour for part of the year. This page reads the current offset from the America/Chicago zone data every time it loads, so the clock, the converter and the call window above are correct for today's date without you tracking the changeover.
How do I convert Houston time to my time zone?
Convert Houston time by taking its UTC-6 offset and applying the difference to your own: subtract Houston's offset from UTC to get the UTC time, then add your own offset. For example, 09:00 in Houston is 15:00 UTC. The converter above does this automatically after detecting your device's time zone, and the World Clock meeting planner lays several cities out on one colour-coded 24-hour grid.
What is the dialing code for Houston?
The dialing code for Houston is +1. To call from abroad, dial +1 before the local number. The card at the top of this page shows it alongside the live local time so you can check it is a reasonable hour before you call.
What are the best hours to call Houston?
Standard business hours in Houston — 9:00 to 17:00 local time — correspond to 15:00 to 23:00 UTC while standard time is in effect, shifting one hour earlier in UTC terms during daylight saving. Convert that UTC window into your own zone to find the overlap. The "best time to call" line above does this for you, using waking hours of roughly 8am–9pm on both ends so neither side is called at night.
Golden hour in Houston
How long is golden hour in Houston? See the data →
Learn how time zones work
UTC & GMT explained · Daylight saving explained · How to convert a time between two cities