Mexico City Time Now

What this page shows

So you want to know what time it is in Mexico City right now. Maybe you have a call with someone in Mexico, a flight to catch, a match kicking off on local time, or someone to reach before their evening is over. That is what the clock at the top of this page is for. It shows the current time in Mexico City and ticks forward every second, so there is nothing for you to work out by hand.

Wherever in the world you are reading this from, the clock tracks Mexico City and keeps itself right on its own. And Mexico City time is simpler than it used to be, because it no longer changes through the year, as the next section explains.

Mexico City no longer changes its clocks

Here is the part worth knowing about Mexico City time. Mexico used to change its clocks twice a year, but it ended daylight saving across most of the country in 2022. So there is no spring forward and no fall back any more. Mexico City stays on the same clock all year round, Central Standard Time, six hours behind UTC.

A few towns along the northern border still follow the US schedule, to keep step with the cities just across the line, but the great bulk of the country, Mexico City included, now holds a steady offset. There are no change dates to track here. Whenever you look, Mexico City is at UTC minus 6, and the clock above simply shows that time.

What time zone Mexico City is in

Mexico City runs on Central Standard Time, six hours behind UTC, held every day of the year. That is the same offset as the US Central zone keeps in winter, the clock of Chicago and the American heartland.

Ending the clock change had an interesting effect on that comparison. Mexico City used to track US Central Time all year, changing its clocks on much the same schedule. Now that it holds still, the two match only in winter. Each spring, when the US Central zone springs forward and Mexico City does not, the city slips an hour behind Chicago, and stays there through the American summer, before they fall back into line in the autumn. So a city that once kept perfect step with its northern neighbour now drifts an hour apart from it for half the year.

Time difference from Mexico City to other cities

Mexico City never changes its clocks, so the gap to other fixed-offset places stays the same all year. The places that do use daylight saving, like the US and Europe, shift by an hour against Mexico City when they change. Here is the quick reference, assuming it is 12 noon in Mexico City.

A few quick examples

Let us run a few, so you can see how this works.

Say it is 12 noon in Mexico City. In the American winter, Chicago reads the same, 12 noon, and New York is an hour ahead at 1 in the afternoon. São Paulo is three hours ahead at 3, all year.

Now the same noon, but in the American summer. This is where ending the clock change shows. Chicago has sprung forward and Mexico City has not, so Chicago now reads 1 in the afternoon, an hour ahead, and New York is two hours ahead at 2. The fixed-offset places do not move either way: São Paulo stays three hours ahead, and Tokyo fifteen.

So for a call into the US that has to land just right, remember that Mexico City holds still while its northern neighbours spring forward, and check the live clock rather than the rule of thumb.

A couple of things about Mexico City time

Mexico City sits well to the south, at about 19 degrees north, not far from the tropics, so the length of the day stays fairly even through the year. Around midsummer there are roughly thirteen hours between sunrise and sunset, and around midwinter still about eleven, a gentle swing, though the city's high altitude gives its mornings and evenings a sharp, cool edge whatever the season.

On the clock-against-sun question, Mexico City runs a little ahead of the sun. Central Standard Time fits the 90 degree west line, and the city sits some way west of it, so the sun reaches its highest a little after 12 noon by the clock, at around half past twelve in the middle of the year. With no daylight saving to shift it, that gentle lean now holds steady all year.

Other places to compare

Mexico City shares the US Central winter offset, UTC minus 6. Here are some to jump to:

• Chicago time now, the US Central anchor
• São Paulo time now, three hours ahead
• New York time now, an hour or two ahead

And if it is the global reference Mexico City is measured from that you are after, see UTC Time Now.

Questions people ask

What time is it in Mexico City right now?

The clock near the top of this page is the answer, and it updates every second. Mexico no longer uses daylight saving in most of the country, so Mexico City stays on the same time all year, and the time shown is always correct.

Does Mexico City change its clocks for daylight saving?

No, not since 2022, when Mexico ended daylight saving across most of the country. Mexico City keeps Central Standard Time, UTC minus 6, all year. Only some towns on the US border still follow the American schedule.

Is Mexico City the same time as Chicago?

In the American winter, yes, both are on UTC minus 6. In the American summer, no. Chicago springs forward and Mexico City does not, so Mexico City is an hour behind Chicago for that half of the year.

What time zone is Mexico City in?

Central Standard Time, six hours behind UTC, held all year. It is the same offset the US Central zone keeps in winter.

What is the time difference between Mexico City and London?

London is normally six hours ahead of Mexico City, or seven when the UK is on summer time. The gap shifts because the UK uses daylight saving and Mexico City does not.

What is the IANA name for Mexico City time?

It is America/Mexico_City in the IANA time zone database, the time data your phone and your computer use. It holds a steady UTC minus 6, and it is what drives the live clock on this page.

References

1. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Time Zone Database (the tz database), home of the America/Mexico_City identifier. https://www.iana.org/time-zones
2. Centro Nacional de Metrología (CENAM), Mexico's national metrology centre, which keeps and disseminates Mexico's official time. https://www.cenam.mx
3. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), Time Department, which maintains Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the reference Central Standard Time is measured from. https://www.bipm.org/en/work-programme/time