What is the Difference Between Central and Eastern Time?

The difference between Central Time and Eastern Time is that Eastern Time is 1 hour ahead of Central Time. Here are some key points to remember:

• Central Time (CT) is also known as Central Standard Time (CST).
• Eastern Time (ET) is also known as Eastern Standard Time (EST).
• When converting between the two zones, always add 1 hour to the Central time to get the Eastern time.
• Both Central and Eastern Time zones observe Daylight Saving Time, which adjusts the clocks forward by 1 hour from March until November. During this period, the time zones are referred to as Central Daylight Time (CDT) and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Comparative Table: Central vs Eastern Time

The difference between Central Time and Eastern Time can be summarized in the following table:

To elaborate on the differences:

• Standard Time Offset: Central Time (CST) is typically 6 hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), while Eastern Time (EST) is 5 hours behind UTC.
• Daylight Saving Time Offset: Both Central and Eastern Time observe Daylight Saving Time, during which clocks are advanced by 1 hour. However, the adjustments occur at different times of the year: Central Time (CDT) is 5 hours behind UTC, and Eastern Time (EDT) is 4 hours behind UTC.

To convert between these time zones, you can subtract 1 hour from Eastern Time to convert it to Central Time.