Current time in Buffalo, NY
Eastern Time UTC−5 · IANA zone America/New_York
Time zone details
| Time zone | Eastern Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Standard time | EST, UTC−5 (early Nov – mid Mar) |
| Daylight time | EDT, UTC−4 (mid Mar – early Nov) |
| DST clock change | Forward 1 h, 2nd Sunday of March · Back 1 h, 1st Sunday of November |
| Sunrise today | — |
| Sunset today | — |
| Day length | — |
| Coordinates | 42.89° N, 78.88° W |
Time difference from Buffalo
| City | Local time now |
|---|---|
| Chicago | −1 h |
| Denver | −2 h |
| Phoenix | −2 / −3 h |
| Los Angeles | −3 h |
| Anchorage | −4 h |
| Honolulu | −5 / −6 h |
Buffalo reads the same clock as the whole Eastern Time Zone — from New York City to Miami — and as Toronto across the Canadian border.
About time in Buffalo
Buffalo is the seat of Erie County at the eastern end of Lake Erie. At longitude 78.9° W it sits almost four degrees west of the 75th meridian that defines Eastern Standard Time, so its clocks run roughly 16 minutes ahead of local solar time — one reason late-June sunsets in Buffalo arrive close to 9:00 PM, among the latest in New York State.
The Peace Bridge to Fort Erie, Ontario, crosses an international border but not a time boundary: southern Ontario also keeps Eastern Time. Since 2007 Canada has used the same daylight saving dates as the United States, so clocks on the two sides of the Niagara River never drift apart, even for a weekend.
Daylight at Buffalo's latitude of 42.9° N swings from about 9 hours at the December solstice, when the sun is down before 5:00 PM, to roughly 15 hours 15 minutes in late June.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Buffalo in?
Buffalo is in the Eastern Time Zone (ET). It uses Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC−5) in winter and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−4) from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
How far ahead is Buffalo of Los Angeles?
Buffalo runs 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles throughout the year, because both cities change to daylight saving time on the same dates. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Buffalo change clocks for daylight saving time?
Yes. Buffalo's clocks move forward one hour at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday of March (March 8 in 2026) and back one hour at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday of November (November 1 in 2026). Full dates on the DST page.