How to convert Central Time to Pacific Time
- Type the Central time, for example from a meeting invite sent from Chicago, Dallas or Houston, and pick the date.
- From is Central Time (Chicago, Dallas) and To is Pacific Time (Los Angeles, Vancouver).
- Read the Pacific time. Before 2 am Central, it’s still the previous evening on the West Coast.
Central to Pacific time table
Every 3 hours. The same on July 15, 2026 (CDT to PDT) and January 15, 2026 (CST to PST).
| Chicago | Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| 12:00 am | 10:00 pm (previous day) |
| 3:00 am | 1:00 am |
| 6:00 am | 4:00 am |
| 9:00 am | 7:00 am |
| 12:00 pm | 10:00 am |
| 3:00 pm | 1:00 pm |
| 6:00 pm | 4:00 pm |
| 9:00 pm | 7:00 pm |
Who uses Central Time
Central Time covers Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Kansas City, New Orleans and Winnipeg, and parts of states that are split between zones, like Tennessee, Kentucky and western Florida. Pacific Time covers California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and British Columbia.
Two places near the Central zone don’t follow it in summer. Saskatchewan stays on CST all year, and Mexico City has stayed on UTC−6 all year since Mexico ended daylight saving in 2022. In July both are only 1 hour ahead of Los Angeles instead of 2. To convert from either, choose it in From instead of Chicago.
Live TV and sports
National broadcasts that start at the same moment everywhere are 2 hours earlier on the West Coast: a game at 7 pm Central kicks off at 5 pm Pacific. Shows aired on a time-delayed West Coast feed are a different story, so check the local listing for those.