Converting PST to CST
Central Time runs ahead of Pacific Time, so the moment it's the middle of the afternoon on the West Coast it's already early evening in Chicago. This page shows the live time in both Pacific Standard Time and Central Standard Time side by side, lets you type a specific Pacific time to convert, and lays out a full conversion table for every hour of the day — all computed from the official timezone rules so daylight saving is always already applied.
What Is the Time Difference Between PST and CST?
Central Time is 2 hours ahead of Pacific Time. When it's 9:00 AM in Los Angeles it's 11:00 AM in Chicago. Because both zones follow the same US daylight saving schedule, the gap stays a constant 2 hours all year — in summer the abbreviations become PDT and CDT, but the difference doesn't move.
PST to CST Conversion Table
Every hour of the day in Pacific Time with its equivalent in Central Time — computed live from the official timezone rules, so daylight saving is always already applied. The highlighted row is the current hour.
| PST | CST |
|---|
Pacific and Central Time Zones
PST — Pacific Standard Time (UTC−8 standard, UTC−7 in summer) covers Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle.
CST — Central Standard Time (UTC−6 standard, UTC−5 in summer) covers Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans.
Both zones observe daylight saving on the same US schedule, so the 2-hour gap between them stays constant all year. For calls and meetings, aim for the overlap of normal working hours in both zones — the conversion table above makes the window easy to spot, with morning in Pacific Time meeting late morning in Central Time.
FAQ
What's the time difference between PST and CST right now?
It's shown live under the clocks above, including any daylight saving currently in effect — Central is normally 2 hours ahead of Pacific.
Is the table daylight-saving aware?
Yes — everything on this page is computed from the IANA timezone database in your browser, which applies the correct rules for today's date automatically.
Can I convert a specific date and time?
For a specific future date — including one that crosses a daylight saving change — use the full time zone converter.