CST to PST

About CST to PST

This page converts Central Time (CT) to Pacific Time (PT). Pick a date and time, and the answer appears at once. Below it, a table shows every hour of that day.

PT is 2 hours behind CT all year. For example, 9:00 AM CST is 7:00 AM PST.

CT is the time in Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Austin, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Winnipeg. PT is the time in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas and Vancouver.

The converter uses your browser's own time zone data, so daylight saving is handled for you — always right for the date you pick, in the past or the future.

Features

• One big answer — "9:00 AM CST → 7:00 AM PST" style, with "next day" or "previous day" when the date changes
• Any date and time — the right offset for that day, summer or winter
• Every hour of the day — a live table for the date you pick, your hour highlighted
• Swap — one tap turns it into PST to CST
• Add more zones — compare London, Tokyo or any other city at the same time
• Now — starts from the current time in CT

CST to PST time table

The difference is the same all year, so this table is always right.

Common times

• 9:00 AM CST is 7:00 AM PST
• 12:00 PM CST is 10:00 AM PST
• 5:00 PM CST is 3:00 PM PST
• 8:00 PM CST is 6:00 PM PST

Mountain Time is in the middle

Between Central and Pacific Time there is Mountain Time (Denver, Salt Lake City, Calgary). It is 1 hour behind Central Time and 1 hour ahead of Pacific Time. Arizona (Phoenix) uses Mountain Standard Time all year, so in summer it has the same clock time as Los Angeles. Add Denver or Phoenix in the converter to see them next to Chicago and Los Angeles.

Daylight saving time

Central Time uses CST (UTC−6) in winter and CDT (UTC−5) in summer. Pacific Time uses PST (UTC−8) in winter and PDT (UTC−7) in summer.

Both follow the US rule: the clocks go forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November — March 8, 2026 to November 1, 2026, and March 14, 2027 to November 7, 2027.

Each side changes its clocks at 2:00 AM its own time, so on the two nights of the change the gap is different for an hour or so, in the middle of the night. The live table above shows those hours as they really are.

Good to know

• Which CST? On this page CST is US Central Time (UTC−6, CDT UTC−5 in summer). China Standard Time is also written CST, but it is UTC+8 — 14 hours ahead of US Central Time in winter. For China, add Beijing / Shanghai in the converter.
• PST or PT? PST is the winter time of the US West Coast; in summer it is PDT. People often say "PST" all year. The converter uses the right one for your date.
• Planning a meeting? Pick the date and time, then add the other cities of the people you meet with. Everyone's time shows in one list.
• The answer comes from your device's time zone data. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours between CST and PST?

PT is 2 hours behind CT. Both sides change their clocks on the same days, so the difference stays the same.

What is 9:00 AM CST in PST?

9:00 AM CST is 7:00 AM PST. Pacific Time is two hours behind Central Time all year, so 9:00 AM CDT is 7:00 AM PDT in summer too.

Does daylight saving change CST to PST?

No. Both sides change their clocks on the same days, so the difference stays the same.

Is CST the same as CT?

Not exactly. CST is the winter time and CDT the summer time; CT means whichever one is in use. Most people say CST for both. This page always uses the correct clock time.

Is CST China time or US Central Time?

Here it is US Central Time (Chicago). China Standard Time is also written CST, but it is UTC+8. To convert to China, pick Beijing / Shanghai in the converter.

Related tools

• Time Zone Converter — any time zone to many others at once
• World Clock — the time now in cities around the world
• CST to EST — Central Time to Eastern Time
• EST to PST — Eastern Time to Pacific Time
• PST to EST — Pacific Time to Eastern Time
• UTC to PST — Coordinated Universal Time to Pacific Time

How to use it

• The time is set to now in CT — change the date and time to the one you need
• Read the answer in the big box: the time in PT
• Look at the table for every hour of that day
• Press Swap to convert PST to CST instead
• Add more time zones from the list to compare other cities