CST to PST Converter (Central Time to Pacific Time)

PST is 2 hours behind CST.

Central Time and Pacific Time are two zones apart, so the difference is two hours: when the clock reads noon in Chicago, it reads 10:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. Both zones move their clocks on the same dates, so the gap is identical in winter and summer.

California and Texas are the two most populous US states, and a large share of business between them is arranged across exactly this gap. A Houston company talking to a Silicon Valley supplier, or a Dallas studio dealing with Burbank, will use this conversion a great deal.

How to use this tool

1. Pick a date and time in CST. The date matters when daylight saving time is in force.
2. Read the matching time in PST, with both UTC offsets.
3. Use "Use current time" for now, or the tables below for a quick look.

Formula

PST time = CST time − (CST UTC offset) + (PST UTC offset)

The converter looks up both UTC offsets for the actual instant in the saved IANA time zone rules, so daylight saving changes are included automatically.

Example

Worked with the saved rules:

9:00 AM CST on March 2, 2026 = 7:00 AM PST

6:30 PM CDT on August 3, 2026 = 4:30 PM PDT

Time difference through the year

The difference depends on the date when either place moves its clocks. These are the offsets on two reference days, from the saved IANA rules:

Clock changes in 2026

Between these dates the difference shifts by the size of the change.

CST to PST time table

Each hour in Central Time with the matching Pacific Time time.

PST to CST time table

Each hour in Pacific Time with the matching Central Time time.

Hours that work in both places

Hours (on the January reference day) that fall between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM in both CST and PST:

A two-hour gap and what it does to the workday

The shared working day is generous. If both offices work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, they overlap from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central, which equals 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific. The Texas morning is half over before the California office opens.

For phone support, the difference matters at the end of the day: a customer in Los Angeles who calls at 4:00 p.m. reaches a Central office at 6:00 p.m., after many have left.

Mountain Time lies in the middle

Between Central and Pacific Time there is one zone, Mountain Time, covering Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque. A traveler flying from Dallas to Seattle sets the watch back by two hours, passing through the Mountain zone along the way.

Arizona does not follow daylight saving time. In summer Phoenix keeps the same time as Los Angeles, and in winter it is one hour ahead of Los Angeles.