Live offset · Year-round DST · Shareable URL

Time difference
Boston and Chicago

Live clocks (EST ↔ CST), the current gap, month-by-month offset changes (steady this year), and a full 24-hour map from Boston to Chicago.

1

Live gap

See the current offset between Boston and Chicago, with IANA-backed clocks updating every second.

2

Year-round chart

Neither city shifts clocks seasonally—the gap stays steady through 2026.

3

Hour-by-hour

Scroll the 24-hour table to map any civil hour in Boston into Chicago with day-shift cues.

Time difference workspace

How Boston and Chicago line up today.

2 cities · live offsetSteady gap
City pair

Boston Chicago

Chicago is 1h behind Boston at this moment. Compare live clocks, seasonal DST shifts, and hour-by-hour conversions below.

Live offsetIANA zones · updates automatically
Boston
America/New_York
ZoneEST / EDT
Offset nowUTC-4
Hour gap
−1h

ChicagoBoston

Chicago
America/Chicago
ZoneCST / CDT
Offset nowUTC-5
About this pairUseful when planning calls or docs

Time difference between Boston and Chicago: Chicago is currently 1 hour behind Boston.

The gap between clocks stays steady through the year for this pair, even when Boston or Chicago (or both) shift for Daylight Saving—transition timing lines up so the delta does not move. The monthly table below shows the exact offset gap month by month. For practical scheduling, jump to the best-time-to-meet page or the 24-hour conversion table below.

Jump aheadPick the view you need next
Best time to meetMonthly offsets24-hour table
Live clocks workspace

Clocks side by side.

Updates every second
Right nowAmerica/New_York · America/Chicago
Boston
America/New_York
Live time
--:--
OffsetUTC-4
AbbreviationEST / EDT
Observes DST
Chicago
America/Chicago
Live time
--:--
OffsetUTC-5
AbbreviationCST / CDT
Observes DST
Relationship

Chicago is 1h behind Boston.

DST rules can widen or shrink this gap for a few weeks each spring and autumn—the month table below shows how many hours Chicago sits ahead of or behind Boston through the calendar year.

Next stepsPlan overlap or convert zones
Best time to meet →EST → CST →Overlap Finder →
Year-round

Offset changes by month

Sampled mid-month for 2026. Compares Chicago versus Boston; a value of +3h means Chicago is three hours ahead of Boston.

2026 calendar

Month-by-month gap

MonthDifference (Chicago vs Boston)
January-1h
February-1h
March-1h
April-1h
May-1h
June-1h
July-1h
August-1h
September-1h
October-1h
November-1h
December-1h
Hour by hour

24-hour conversion table

Every civil hour in Boston mapped into Chicago; day-shift cues follow active DST for both zones today.

BostonChicago

Hourly wall-clock map for today — midnight crossings show as day shifts.

Boston with part-of-day icon
Chicago arrow and converted time
Day
  • 00:00
    23:00
    Prev day
  • 01:00
    00:00
    Same day
  • 02:00
    01:00
    Same day
  • 03:00
    02:00
    Same day
  • 04:00
    03:00
    Same day
  • 05:00
    04:00
    Same day
  • 06:00
    05:00
    Same day
  • 07:00
    06:00
    Same day
  • 08:00
    07:00
    Same day
  • 09:00
    08:00
    Same day
  • 10:00
    09:00
    Same day
  • 11:00
    10:00
    Same day
  • 12:00
    11:00
    Same day
  • 13:00
    12:00
    Same day
  • 14:00
    13:00
    Same day
  • 15:00
    14:00
    Same day
  • 16:00
    15:00
    Same day
  • 17:00
    16:00
    Same day
  • 18:00
    17:00
    Same day
  • 19:00
    18:00
    Same day
  • 20:00
    19:00
    Same day
  • 21:00
    20:00
    Same day
  • 22:00
    21:00
    Same day
  • 23:00
    22:00
    Same day
Uses your browser's IANA zone data — choose another date in the converter for historical or future days.
Keep exploring

Related pages

More time-difference routes, pairwise best times, triple-city overlaps, and conversions tied to Boston, Chicago, or this corridor.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Offsets between Boston and Chicago, DST shifts, scheduling, and how we source timezone data—plus how to share this page.

Currently, Chicago is 1h behind Boston. This may change through the year if either city observes Daylight Saving Time.