Current time in Columbus, 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 | 39.96° N, 83.00° W |
Time difference from Columbus
| 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 |
Columbus matches the whole Eastern Time Zone minute for minute — Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York, and Atlanta all show the same time.
About time in Columbus
Columbus, seat of Franklin County and Ohio's capital and largest city, sits near the geographic center of a state that keeps Eastern Time from border to border — no Ohio county has ever been carved out for Central Time under the modern zone map.
At almost exactly 83° W, the city's clocks run about 32 minutes ahead of the sun during standard time, which is why winter sunrises are strikingly late: around New Year's Day the sun is not up until nearly 7:55 AM.
Sessions of the Ohio General Assembly at the Statehouse, state agency deadlines, and Big Ten kickoff times are all announced in ET, the reference clock for the entire state.
Time in cities near Columbus
| City | Distance | Local time now |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH | 100 mi | Eastern Time |
| Akron, OH | 110 mi | Eastern Time |
| Toledo, OH | 120 mi | Eastern Time |
| Cleveland, OH | 126 mi | Eastern Time |
| Charleston, WV | 133 mi | Eastern Time |
| Fort Wayne, IN | 136 mi | Eastern Time |
| Lexington, KY | 155 mi | Eastern Time |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 162 mi | Eastern Time |
More places: all Ohio cities · Eastern Time Zone · every US city
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Columbus in?
Columbus, Ohio runs on Eastern Time: EST (UTC−5) during the winter months and EDT (UTC−4) from the second Sunday of March until the first Sunday of November. Ohio has no internal time zone boundary.
How far ahead of the West Coast is Columbus?
Columbus is always 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, because Pacific and Eastern clocks change for DST on the same dates. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Columbus observe daylight saving time?
Yes. Columbus turns clocks ahead one hour at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday of March and back at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday of November — in 2026, March 8 and November 1. Full dates on the DST page.