Current time in Detroit, MI
Eastern Time UTC−5 · IANA zone America/Detroit
Time zone details
| Time zone | Eastern Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Standard time | EST, UTC−5 (early Nov – mid Mar) |
| Daylight time | EDT, UTC−4 (mid Mar – early Nov) |
| DST clock change | Forward 1 h, 2nd Sunday of March · Back 1 h, 1st Sunday of November |
| Sunrise today | — |
| Sunset today | — |
| Day length | — |
| Coordinates | 42.33° N, 83.05° W |
Time difference from Detroit
| City | Local time now |
|---|---|
| Chicago | −1 h |
| Denver | −2 h |
| Phoenix | −2 / −3 h |
| Los Angeles | −3 h |
| Anchorage | −4 h |
| Honolulu | −5 / −6 h |
Detroit shows the same time as Toledo, Cleveland, and New York — the whole Eastern Time Zone — while Chicago is an hour behind.
About time in Detroit
Detroit, the seat of Wayne County, carries its own entry in the IANA time zone database — America/Detroit — because its clock history diverges from New York's: the city ran on Central Time until a 1915 city vote moved it to Eastern, and Michigan made the change statewide in 1931.
Michigan then held out against daylight saving for years. After the Uniform Time Act of 1966 the state exempted itself, voters confirmed the exemption in a 1968 referendum, and DST only returned when a second referendum narrowly approved it in 1972.
The payoff of Eastern Time at 83° W is long summer evenings — sunsets after 9:00 PM around the June solstice — and Windsor, Ontario, directly across the Detroit River, keeps an identical clock.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Detroit in?
Detroit is on Eastern Time (EST, UTC−5 in winter; EDT, UTC−4 in summer). The time zone database records it as America/Detroit because the city's clock history differs from New York's — it stayed on Central Time until 1915.
How far ahead of Los Angeles is Detroit?
Detroit stays 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year; both cities change to and from daylight saving time on the same nights. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Detroit observe daylight saving time?
Yes — though Michigan once refused it. Voters kept the state off DST in 1968 and only approved it in a 1972 referendum. Today Detroit springs forward the second Sunday of March and falls back the first Sunday of November.