What is the time difference between Chicago and Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Los Angeles from Chicago?

Between 11:00–18:00 in Chicago, which is 09:00–16:00 in Los Angeles. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Los Angeles observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Los Angeles runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in Los Angeles?

It is 10:00 in Los Angeles, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Chicago and Los Angeles use?

Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and Los Angeles uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Chicago time to Los Angeles time

Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago right now, so midday in Chicago lands in the morning in Los Angeles.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Chicago, and what the clock reads in Los Angeles at that same moment.

Chicago	Los Angeles
00:00	22:00previous day
01:00	23:00previous day
02:00	00:00
03:00	01:00
04:00	02:00
05:00	03:00
06:00	04:00
07:00	05:00
08:00	06:00
09:00	07:00
10:00	08:00
11:00	09:00
12:00	10:00
13:00	11:00
14:00	12:00
15:00	13:00
16:00	14:00
17:00	15:00
18:00	16:00
19:00	17:00
20:00	18:00
21:00	19:00
22:00	20:00
23:00	21:00

Daylight saving time

Both cities change their clocks, but not necessarily on the same date — which is why the difference between them shifts for a few weeks each year.

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-6
Daylight: UTC-5
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

Los Angeles

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-8
Daylight: UTC-7
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

When you can actually talk

The window is 7 hours wide — 11:00–18:00 in Chicago, 09:00–16:00 in Los Angeles.

Chicago 11:00–18:00Los Angeles 09:00–16:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Chicago	Los Angeles
IANA zone	America/Chicago	America/Los_Angeles
Abbreviation	CDT	PDT
Standard offset	UTC-6	UTC-8
Daylight offset	UTC-5	UTC-7
Clock changes this year	2	2
Country	United States	United States

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Chicago and Los Angeles?: Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Los Angeles from Chicago?: Between 11:00–18:00 in Chicago, which is 09:00–16:00 in Los Angeles. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Los Angeles observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Los Angeles runs on UTC-8 in winter and UTC-7 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in Los Angeles?: It is 10:00 in Los Angeles, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Chicago and Los Angeles use?: Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and Los Angeles uses America/Los_Angeles, currently UTC-7 (PDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.