Time Zones in Texas, United States

Time Zones Currently Being Used in Texas

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Example City	Current Time
UTC -6	MDT	Mountain Daylight Time	El Paso	Thu, 4:24:12 pm
UTC -5	CDT	Central Daylight Time	Houston	Thu, 5:24:12 pm

Two Texas Time Zones

Texas spans two time zones. Most of the state observes Central Time (CT), while three counties in the West Texas region follow Mountain Time (MT): El Paso, Hudspeth, and parts of Culberson County.

Because of Daylight Saving Time (DST), areas observing CT switch between Central Standard Time (CST) and Central Daylight Time (CDT). The three counties in West Texas follow Mountain Standard Time (MST) as standard time and Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) when DST is in effect.

Mountain Time in National Park

Most of Culberson County, including its largest city Van Horn, uses Central Time. However, northwest in the county, in Guadalupe Mountains National Park—home of the famous mountain El Capitan—Mountain Time is informally used.

Generalized Time Zones in Texas

Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Offset	Current Time
MT	Mountain Time	UTC -7:00 / -6:00	Thu, 4:24:12 pm
CT	Central Time	UTC -6:00 / -5:00	Thu, 5:24:12 pm

Note: Local time in these time zones changes when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends.

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Time Zones Not Currently Being Observed in Texas

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Commences
UTC -7	MST	Mountain Standard Time	Nov 3, 2024
UTC -6	CST	Central Standard Time	Nov 3, 2024

The above time zones are used during other parts of the year. They will become active again after the next clock change as Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

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