About EST to CST Time
EST covers New York, Toronto, Atlanta, Miami and Boston. CST covers Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Mexico City and Winnipeg.
Working days overlap between 10:00 and 18:00 EST, which is 09:00–17:00 in CST. That window is where calls land without anyone working late.
Both regions use daylight saving, so the gap holds for most of the year — except for the week or two each spring and autumn when they switch on different dates.
How it works
Central Time (Chicago) is always 1 hour behind of Eastern Time (New York).
- Take the EST time you want to convert.
- Subtract 1 hour.
- Roll the date forward or back if the result crosses midnight.
Neither side changes its clocks relative to the other, so this gap holds all year.
Zone details: EST is −5 in winter and −4 in summer (UTC), CST is −6 in winter and −5 in summer.
Examples
A working day in EST, seen from CST:
| EST | CST |
|---|---|
| 09:00 EST | 08:00 CST |
| 12:00 EST | 11:00 CST |
| 15:00 EST | 14:00 CST |
| 18:00 EST | 17:00 CST |
| 21:00 EST | 20:00 CST |
Meetings usually work best where the two working days overlap. Drag the timeline above to see the overlap for any hour, or use the full time zone converter for any other pair of cities.
EST to CST Time: frequently asked questions
- What is the time difference between EST and CST?
- CST is 1 hour behind EST in standard time (EST is UTC−5, CST is UTC−6). Both zones change clocks on the same US dates, so the 1 hour difference stays the same all year.
- What is 9 AM EST in CST?
- 9:00 AM EST is 8:00 AM CST (standard time).
- Where is EST used?
- Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) is used in the US East Coast (New York, Miami).
- Where is CST used?
- Central Standard Time (UTC−6) is used in US Central (Chicago, Dallas).