Current time in Virginia Beach, VA
Eastern Time UTC−5 · IANA zone America/New_York
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 | 36.85° N, 75.98° W |
Time difference from Virginia Beach
| 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 |
Virginia Beach shares Eastern Time with neighboring Norfolk, with Richmond upstate, and with every city in the Eastern Time Zone.
About time in Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia and, like all of the state's cities, an independent jurisdiction outside any county — the modern city was created in 1963 by merging the old resort town with surrounding Princess Anne County. Virginia keeps Eastern Time statewide, so no clock changes anywhere between the Oceanfront and the Kentucky line.
Facing due east over the open Atlantic, the boardwalk sees the sun climb straight out of the ocean: around 5:45 AM EDT at the June solstice and a little after 7:10 AM EST in late December.
At just under 37° N the seasonal daylight swing is gentler than in the Northeast — about 9 hours 35 minutes at the winter minimum versus roughly 14 hours 40 minutes at the summer peak.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Virginia Beach in?
Virginia Beach is in the Eastern Time Zone (ET). It follows EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November.
How far ahead is Virginia Beach of Los Angeles?
Virginia Beach runs 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles all year — noon at the Oceanfront is 9:00 AM on the Pacific coast — since both zones share the same DST calendar. See the EST to PST chart.
Does Virginia Beach change clocks for daylight saving time?
Yes. Virginia Beach sets clocks forward one hour at 2:00 AM on the second Sunday of March and back one hour at 2:00 AM on the first Sunday of November — in 2026, March 8 and November 1. Full dates on the DST page.