In the graph below you see the time zone difference between Mountain Standard Time and Central Standard Time. Drag the bubble to adjust the time and to see the corresponding time in the other time zone.
Mountain Standard Time is the time zone of the US and Canadian states around the Rocky Mountains when observing daylight saving time in the sum, including cities like Edmonton, Calgary, Denver and Salt Lake City. 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 in the morning for the person in MST and after lunch for the person in CST.
More MST conversions
MST to GMT, MST to CET, MST to EDT, MST to PDT, MST to BST
More CST conversions
CST to CET, CST to PDT, CST to EDT, CST to BST, CST to CEST
Mountain Standard Time is observed in the Western part of central US and Canada, as well as the North West corner of Mexico. It is 7 hours behind UTC and turns into MDT in the summer. The name Mountain Time comes from it covering the Rocky Mountains in Western United States. In Mexico, this time zone is known as Zona Pacifico (Pacific Zone).
Mountain Time is observed in parts of Canada, the US and Mexico. The only province in Canada to be fully covered by MST is Alberta whereas other provinces like British Columbia and Northwest Territories are split between MST and PST.
In the US, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming are all observing Mountain Time but there is also a bunch where part of the state observe MST and part another time zone, like CST or PST.
In Mexico, it is only the states in the north western corner of the country, including Baja California, Sinaloa and Chihuahua that observe MST.
The largest city observing MST is Phoenix, followed by Denver and El Paso/Juarez.
Aside from Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora, all other locations do observe DST, turning MST into MDT – Mountain Daylight Time. Given this, and the fact that not entire states observe the same time zone, it is always recommended to use a good time zone converter to convert specific locations’ times.
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.