Current time in Grand Rapids, MI
Eastern Time UTC−5 · IANA zone America/Detroit
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 | 42.96° N, 85.67° W |
Time difference from Grand Rapids
| 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 |
Grand Rapids keeps Detroit's clock and that of the wider Eastern Time Zone; Milwaukee, straight across Lake Michigan, is an hour behind.
About time in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the seat of Kent County in western Michigan. Though it lies at 85.7° W — nearly eleven degrees west of the Eastern zone's reference meridian — it keeps Eastern Time with the whole Lower Peninsula; only four Upper Peninsula counties along the Wisconsin border run on Central.
That westerly position inside ET makes for famously long summer evenings: around the June solstice the sun over Grand Rapids does not set until roughly 9:20 PM EDT, later than in almost any other large Eastern-zone city.
Winter shows the flip side, with early-January sunrises arriving after 8:10 AM — a direct consequence of clocks running some 43 minutes ahead of local solar time.
Time in cities near Grand Rapids
| City | Distance | Local time now |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee, WI | 113 mi | Central Time |
| Chicago, IL | 125 mi | Central Time |
| Fort Wayne, IN | 133 mi | Eastern Time |
| Detroit, MI | 140 mi | Eastern Time |
| Toledo, OH | 142 mi | Eastern Time |
| Green Bay, WI | 159 mi | Central Time |
| Madison, WI | 189 mi | Central Time |
| Indianapolis, IN | 222 mi | Eastern Time |
More places: all Michigan cities · Eastern Time Zone · every US city
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Grand Rapids in?
Grand Rapids observes Eastern Time (EST, UTC−5 in winter; EDT, UTC−4 in summer) along with Michigan's entire Lower Peninsula. Only four Upper Peninsula counties on the Wisconsin border use Central Time.
What is the time difference between Grand Rapids and Los Angeles?
Grand Rapids is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles year-round, because Eastern and Pacific clocks make their daylight saving changes together. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Grand Rapids observe daylight saving time?
Yes. Grand Rapids sets clocks forward 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.