Current time in Cleveland, OH
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 | 41.50° N, 81.69° W |
Time difference from Cleveland
| 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 |
Cleveland runs on the same clock as Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and every other city of the Eastern Time Zone.
About time in Cleveland
Cleveland is the seat of Cuyahoga County on the Lake Erie shore. When US railroads standardized time zones in 1883 the city was placed on Central Time, and it only moved to Eastern Time on May 1, 1914, as its commercial ties pulled it toward East Coast markets.
Every Ohio county now observes Eastern Time, so Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, and Cincinnati never differ, and Detroit across the lake keeps the identical clock as well.
Sitting at 41.5° N and nearly seven degrees west of the zone's meridian, Cleveland gets late-June sunsets close to 9:05 PM EDT, while December daylight shrinks to about 9 hours 10 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Cleveland in?
Cleveland is in the Eastern Time Zone, along with all of Ohio: EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) from mid-March to early November.
What is the time difference between Cleveland and Los Angeles?
Cleveland is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles in every month of the year, as both cities shift to daylight saving time together. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Cleveland change clocks for daylight saving time?
Yes. Cleveland's clocks jump forward at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday of March and drop back at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday of November — March 8 and November 1 in 2026. Full dates on the DST page.