In the graph below you see the time zone difference between Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time. Drag the bubble to adjust the time and to see the corresponding time in the other time zone.
Eastern Standard Time is the time zone of the Canadian and US East Coast, including cities like Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Washington D.C. And Miami. Central Standard Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as most of Central America, with places like Winnipeg, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Mexico City, San Jose and Panama City.
Usually it is preferable to schedule meetings any time from the morning for the person in EST and any time from the morning for the person in CST.
More EST conversions
EST to CET, EST to MST, EST to BST, EST to PDT, EST to JST
More CST conversions
CST to GMT, CST to PST, CST to MST, CST to CET, CST to PDT
This is the standard time of the Eastern US, Canada and parts of the Caribbean. It is in most places observed only in the winter months, from November to March. The origin of EST is the same as for most time zones – it was introduced when the railroad was built across the United States. It is important to note that there is also Eastern Standard Time in Australia, but this is usually called AEST and thus not to be confused with EST.
Most of the Eastern seaboard of the US observe EST, as well as most locations in Eastern Canada although there are a few exceptions. Locations such as New York, Washington, Quebec and Ontario are all on Eastern Standard Time. Also some Caribbean locations such as Jamaica, Haiti and Panama are in this time zone.
It is important to note that with the exception of Panama, Jamaica and a couple of locations in Canada and the US most in this time zone do observe DST and thus switch to EDT in the summer. As always, it is better to look up the actual location than the timezone itself.
Central Standard Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as Mexico and most of Central America. It is six hours behind UTC and is observed during the winter months. In the summer CST becomes CDT – Central Daylight Time. It is important to remember that not all locations in a given state or province necessarily use the time zone – make sure to check the situation for your exact location!
CST is observed in the US, Canada, Mexico and all of Central America (including Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras). In the US it is only the states in the central parts that observes CST, from Wisconsin in the West to Tennessee in the East, and from Michigan in the North to Florida in the South. Similarly, only Canadian provinces in the middle of the country observe CST. With the exception of the North West corner, all of Mexico observes CST.
Mexico: México (including Mexico City), Oaxaca, Yucatán, San Luis Potosi, Chiapas and more.
Canada: Saskatchewan (only Creighton and Denare Beach), Manitoba and most ports of Ontario
US: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Illinois to mention a few.
Most locations in Central Standard Time observe summer time between March and November, then calling it CDT – Central Daylight Time. It is always advisable to check the exact location (e.g. using our time zone converter) instead of relying on time zone abbreviations as there are sometimes exceptions, e.g. some states in the US are split between two time zones.