What Time Zone Is Florida In?

Most of Florida is on Eastern Time. The western Panhandle, west of the Apalachicola River, is on Central Time, one hour behind. That includes Pensacola, Destin and Panama City. Tallahassee is on Eastern Time.

• Eastern Time
  11:39 AM
  EDT · UTC−04:00
  Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee
• Central Time
  10:39 AM
  CDT · UTC−05:00
  Pensacola, Panama City, Destin

Which counties are on Central Time

Nine counties are on Central Time: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson and Calhoun. The northern part of Gulf County is also on Central Time. All other Florida counties use Eastern Time.

For most of its length the line follows the Apalachicola River. Near the coast it leaves the river and runs along the Intracoastal Waterway through Gulf County. Wewahitchka, in the north of the county, keeps Central Time, while Port St. Joe on the coast keeps Eastern Time.

Crossing the line by road

• I-10: the zone changes at the Apalachicola River, between Sneads (Central) and Chattahoochee (Eastern). Eastbound toward Tallahassee, clocks jump forward an hour.
• US 98 along the coast: Mexico Beach, in Bay County, is on Central Time. Port St. Joe, a few miles east, is on Eastern Time.

Time zone of Florida cities

Florida compared with other zones

• Pensacola is 1 hour behind Miami and Orlando.
• Pensacola is the same time as Mobile, Alabama, and Chicago.
• Miami is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles.

Daylight saving time in Florida

All of Florida changes its clocks on the federal schedule. In 2018 the Florida Legislature passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would keep the state on daylight saving time all year. Federal law does not let a state stay on daylight time permanently, so the change needs an act of Congress, and none has passed. Until then Florida keeps switching. Upcoming changes:

• Sunday, November 1, 2026, 2:00 AM: clocks go back 1 hour.
• Sunday, March 14, 2027, 2:00 AM: clocks go forward 1 hour.

The Panhandle changes an hour after the rest of the state, at 2:00 a.m. Central Time.

Other state guides

Arizona · California · Michigan · Tennessee · Texas · All 50 states

Not sure which zone your device is on? Check your own time zone.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Time in Florida
• Wikipedia — Sunshine Protection Act
• 49 CFR Part 71 — Standard time zone boundaries
• 15 U.S.C. § 260a — Advancement of time (daylight saving period)

Last checked October 21, 2026.