Current time in Milwaukee, WI
Central Time UTC−6 · IANA zone America/Chicago
Time zone details
| Time zone | Central Time (CT) |
|---|---|
| Standard time | CST, UTC−6 (early Nov – mid Mar) |
| Daylight time | CDT, UTC−5 (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 | 43.04° N, 87.91° W |
Time difference from Milwaukee
| City | Local time now |
|---|---|
| New York | +1 h |
| Denver | −1 h |
| Phoenix | −1 / −2 h |
| Los Angeles | −2 h |
| Anchorage | −3 h |
| Honolulu | −4 / −5 h |
Milwaukee keeps Central Time Zone hours with Chicago, Madison, and Minneapolis; Grand Rapids across Lake Michigan is an hour ahead.
About time in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, seat of Milwaukee County on Lake Michigan's western shore, observes Central Time along with all of Wisconsin — the state contains no time zone boundary at all.
Ninety miles south, Chicago runs on the identical clock, so the dense rail, freeway, and commuter corridor along the lake's west side never crosses a time line; the east side of the lake, in Michigan, is a different story at one hour ahead.
At 43° N the city's daylight spans about 9 hours in late December and roughly 15 hours 20 minutes in June, when the sun sets over the city at close to 8:35 PM CDT.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Milwaukee in?
Milwaukee is on Central Time (CST, UTC−6 in winter; CDT, UTC−5 in summer), together with every county in Wisconsin — the state has no time zone boundary.
What is the time difference between Milwaukee and New York?
Milwaukee is always 1 hour behind New York; the Central and Eastern zones make their daylight saving changes on the same nights. See the CST to EST chart.
Does Milwaukee observe daylight saving time?
Yes. Milwaukee turns clocks ahead at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday of March and back at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday of November — March 8 and November 1 in 2026. Full dates on the DST page.