Is New York always 1 hour ahead of Chicago?

Yes. New York is in Eastern Time and Chicago is in Central Time. Because both cities switch to Daylight Saving Time on the same dates, the offset is a constant 1 hour throughout the year.

What time zones are used?

New York uses America/New_York (UTC-5 in winter, UTC-4 in summer). Chicago uses America/Chicago (UTC-6 in winter, UTC-5 in summer). The 1-hour gap between them never changes.

What is Eastern Time (ET)?

Eastern Time covers the US East Coast, including New York, Boston, and Miami. It is UTC-5 during Eastern Standard Time (EST) and UTC-4 during Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

What is Central Time (CT)?

Central Time covers the US Midwest and South, including Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. It is UTC-6 during Central Standard Time (CST) and UTC-5 during Central Daylight Time (CDT).

Does Daylight Saving Time affect the offset?

No. Both New York and Chicago observe Daylight Saving Time on the same dates (second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November), so the 1-hour gap between them stays constant.

How accurate are the clocks?

The clocks rely on your device's system clock and the browser's Intl.DateTimeFormat API with IANA time zone data. They are accurate to the second as long as your system time is correct.

Time Difference: New York to Chicago

Name: Time Difference: New York to Chicago
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

See the live time in New York and Chicago side by side, plus the exact hour offset between Eastern Time and Central Time.

New York

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Eastern Time (ET)

Offset

New York is 1 hour ahead of Chicago

Chicago

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Central Time (CT)

Time Converter

Enter a New York (ET) time

Type any ET time to see what it is in Chicago (CT)

Chicago (CT)

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Quick Reference — ET to CT

New York (ET)	Chicago (CT)	Period

Summary

See the live time in New York and Chicago side by side, plus the exact hour offset between Eastern Time and Central Time.

How it works

Your browser reads the current UTC time.
It converts UTC to Eastern Time (America/New_York) and Central Time (America/Chicago) using the built-in Intl API.
Both clocks update every second in real time.
The offset panel shows the fixed 1-hour difference and clarifies which city is ahead.

Use cases

Schedule a call between a New York and Chicago colleague.
Check whether a Chicago deadline has passed in New York time.
Verify meeting times when coordinating across ET and CT.
Quickly confirm the time in Chicago when you only know the New York time.
Understand the ET/CT offset for travel planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu