How many time zones does Mexico have?

Mexico officially uses four time zones: Central Standard Time (CST, UTC-6), Mountain Standard Time (MST, UTC-7), Pacific Standard Time (PST, UTC-8), and Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5). Most states are in the Central zone.

Does Mexico observe daylight saving time?

Most of Mexico observes DST, shifting clocks forward one hour in spring and back in autumn on a schedule roughly aligned with the United States. However, the state of Sonora does not observe DST and stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) year-round. Quintana Roo (Cancun) permanently moved to Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) in 2015 and does not observe DST.

What time zone is Mexico City in?

Mexico City is in the Central time zone. During winter it is on CST (UTC-6), and during summer it shifts to CDT (UTC-5). The IANA identifier is America/Mexico_City.

What time zone is Cancun in?

Cancun and the state of Quintana Roo are permanently on Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5) with no daylight saving adjustment. This makes Cancun 1 hour ahead of Mexico City for most of the year.

What time zone is Tijuana in?

Tijuana (Baja California) uses Pacific Time — PST (UTC-8) in winter and PDT (UTC-7) in summer — on the same DST schedule as California. The IANA identifier is America/Tijuana.

What is the time difference between Mexico City and New York?

During standard time, Mexico City (CST, UTC-6) and New York (EST, UTC-5) are 1 hour apart, with New York 1 hour ahead. During US DST (EDT, UTC-4) both cities may differ by 1 or 2 hours depending on when each observes their own DST transition.

Why does Sonora not observe daylight saving time?

The state of Sonora permanently stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) primarily to remain aligned with neighboring Arizona, which also does not observe DST (except for the Navajo Nation). This simplifies cross-border business and daily life along the shared border.

Mexico Time Zones Overview

Name: Mexico Time Zones Overview
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

See the current time in every Mexican time zone — CST, MST, PST, and EST — all updated live every second.

CST / CDT

Central Time

UTC−6 / UTC−5

--:--:--

DST Yes — observes DST

Cities Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla

MST

Mountain Time

UTC−7 (fixed)

--:--:--

DST No DST — Sonora only

Cities Hermosillo, Sonora

PST / PDT

Pacific Time

UTC−8 / UTC−7

--:--:--

DST Yes — observes DST

Cities Tijuana, Mexicali, Baja California

EST

Eastern Time

UTC−5 (fixed)

--:--:--

DST No DST — Quintana Roo only

Cities Cancun, Chetumal, Quintana Roo

World City Comparison

— compared to Mexico City (Central), live

City	Zone	UTC Offset	Local Time	vs Mexico City

Time Converter

Time to Convert

From

Mexico Time Facts

Time zones4 zones

Central (most states)UTC−6 / −5

Mountain (Sonora)UTC−7 (fixed)

Pacific (Baja California)UTC−8 / −7

Eastern (Quintana Roo)UTC−5 (fixed)

Sonora DSTNo

Quintana Roo DSTNo

Summary

See the current time in every Mexican time zone — CST, MST, PST, and EST — all updated live every second.

How it works

The page loads and immediately starts live clocks for all four Mexican time zones.
Each zone card shows the current time, zone abbreviation, UTC offset, and major cities in that zone.
The world comparison table shows equivalent times in major global cities alongside Central Mexico time.
Use the time converter to translate any specific time between a Mexican zone and a city of your choice.
All calculations run in your browser using the Intl.DateTimeFormat API — no server requests.
Clocks update every second so you always see the current time.

Use cases

Check the time in Mexico City before scheduling a call with a Mexican business partner.
Find out if Tijuana is on the same time as Los Angeles right now.
Confirm whether Sonora (Hermosillo) observes daylight saving time (it does not).
Find the overlap window for a meeting across Mexico City, Monterrey, and Cancun.
Verify the UTC offset for Cancun (EST, UTC-5, no DST) when booking a flight connection.
Quickly see all four Mexican time zones side by side without mental math.
Plan calls between a US or European office and Mexico during DST transitions.
Convert a specific meeting time from US Eastern to Mexico Central or Pacific.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-24 · Reviewed by Nham Vu