What Time Zone Is Tennessee In?

Tennessee is split. West and Middle Tennessee, including Nashville and Memphis, are on Central Time. Most of East Tennessee, including Knoxville and Chattanooga, is on Eastern Time, one hour ahead. The whole state uses daylight saving time.

• Central Time
  10:39 AM
  CDT · UTC−05:00
  Nashville, Memphis, Clarksville
• Eastern Time
  11:39 AM
  EDT · UTC−04:00
  Knoxville, Chattanooga, Johnson City

Where the Central–Eastern line is

65 of Tennessee's 95 counties are on Central Time, about three quarters of the state's land. The line does not follow the familiar split into West, Middle and East Tennessee exactly. A few counties on the Cumberland Plateau that many people think of as East Tennessee, such as Cumberland County around Crossville, also keep Central Time.

The westernmost counties on Eastern Time run north to south along the line: Scott, Morgan, Roane, Rhea and Hamilton. Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities are all on the Eastern side.

Crossing the line by road

• I-40 (Nashville to Knoxville): the zone changes where the interstate leaves Cumberland County and enters Roane County, near exit 340 between Crossville and Rockwood. Eastbound, clocks jump forward an hour.
• I-24 (Nashville to Chattanooga): the zone changes west of Chattanooga, where the interstate dips briefly into Georgia. Chattanooga itself is on Eastern Time.

Phones set their time from nearby cell towers, so around these crossings they can show the wrong zone for a few miles. If you have an appointment just across the line, check which county it is in.

Time zone of major Tennessee cities

Nashville, Knoxville and the rest of the country

• Nashville is 1 hour behind Knoxville and Chattanooga.
• Memphis is the same time as Nashville.
• Knoxville is the same time as New York.
• Nashville is 2 hours ahead of Los Angeles.

Daylight saving time in Tennessee

Both parts of Tennessee change their clocks on the federal schedule. Central Time is CST (UTC−6) in winter and CDT (UTC−5) in summer. Eastern Time is EST (UTC−5) and EDT (UTC−4). 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.

East Tennessee changes an hour earlier than Nashville in absolute terms, because each zone switches at its own 2:00 a.m.

Other state guides

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

Sources

• Wikipedia — Time in Tennessee
• Wikipedia — Interstate 40 in Tennessee
• Wikipedia — Interstate 24
• 49 CFR Part 71 — Standard time zone boundaries
• 15 U.S.C. § 260a — Advancement of time (daylight saving period)

Last checked October 21, 2026.