What is the time difference between Denver and Chicago?

Chicago is 1 hour ahead of Denver. 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 Chicago from Denver?

Between 09:00–17:00 in Denver, which is 10:00–18:00 in Chicago. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Denver observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Denver runs on UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

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.

If it is midday in Denver, what time is it in Chicago?

It is 13:00 in Chicago, 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 Denver and Chicago use?

Denver uses America/Denver, currently UTC-6 (MDT), and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Denver time to Chicago time

Chicago is 1 hour ahead of Denver right now, so midday in Denver lands in the afternoon in Chicago.

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 Denver, and what the clock reads in Chicago at that same moment.

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

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.

Denver

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-7
Daylight: UTC-6
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

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

When you can actually talk

The window is 8 hours wide — 09:00–17:00 in Denver, 10:00–18:00 in Chicago.

Denver 09:00–17:00Chicago 10:00–18:00

Reference

The underlying data, in case you need to put it in a calendar invitation or a configuration file.

	Denver	Chicago
IANA zone	America/Denver	America/Chicago
Abbreviation	MDT	CDT
Standard offset	UTC-7	UTC-6
Daylight offset	UTC-6	UTC-5
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 Denver and Chicago?: Chicago is 1 hour ahead of Denver. 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 Chicago from Denver?: Between 09:00–17:00 in Denver, which is 10:00–18:00 in Chicago. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Denver observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Denver runs on UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
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.
If it is midday in Denver, what time is it in Chicago?: It is 13:00 in Chicago, 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 Denver and Chicago use?: Denver uses America/Denver, currently UTC-6 (MDT), and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.