What is the time difference between Johannesburg and Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Johannesburg. 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 Johannesburg?

There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.

Does Johannesburg observe daylight saving time?

No. Johannesburg stays on UTC+2 all year, so its clocks never move.

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 Johannesburg, what time is it in Los Angeles?

It is 03:00 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 Johannesburg and Los Angeles use?

Johannesburg uses Africa/Johannesburg, currently UTC+2, 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 Johannesburg time to Los Angeles time

Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Johannesburg right now, so midday in Johannesburg lands in the small hours in Los Angeles.

Convert a time

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Date

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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

The whole day mapped across: read down the left for Johannesburg, across for Los Angeles.

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

Daylight saving time

Los Angeles changes its clocks; Johannesburg does not. The difference between them therefore shifts by an hour twice a year.

Johannesburg

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+2

Los Angeles

Observes daylight saving time

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

When you can actually talk

There is no hour where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 working day. Someone has to move — the nearest workable windows are below.

Johannesburg 02:00–03:00Los Angeles 17:00–18:00
Johannesburg 09:00–02:00Los Angeles 00:00–17:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Johannesburg	Los Angeles
IANA zone	Africa/Johannesburg	America/Los_Angeles
Abbreviation	UTC+2	PDT
Standard offset	UTC+2	UTC-8
Daylight offset	—	UTC-7
Clock changes this year	0	2
Country	South Africa	United States

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Johannesburg and Los Angeles?: Los Angeles is 9 hours behind Johannesburg. 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 Johannesburg?: There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.
Does Johannesburg observe daylight saving time?: No. Johannesburg stays on UTC+2 all year, so its clocks never move.
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 Johannesburg, what time is it in Los Angeles?: It is 03:00 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 Johannesburg and Los Angeles use?: Johannesburg uses Africa/Johannesburg, currently UTC+2, 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.