Houston

United States • Central Time

Time Zone

Houston uses Central Time (CST / CDT), currently running at UTC−6 (winter) / UTC−5 (summer). Clocks spring forward one hour in mid-March and fall back in early November.

Business & Commerce

Houston, Texas operates on Central Time (CT) — Central Standard Time (CST, UTC−6) in winter and Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−5) in summer, sharing its clock with Chicago. Houston is the global capital of the petroleum industry: it is home to more energy company headquarters than any other city in the world, and its business rhythms are shaped by the continuous nature of global oil and gas markets. Energy traders in Houston typically track overnight Asian and European market developments before the U.S. session opens each morning. At CST, Houston is one hour behind New York and two hours ahead of Los Angeles. The Port of Houston — one of the busiest U.S. ports by total cargo — runs continuously, and its logistics operations cross international time zone boundaries around the clock, tying Houston's scheduling directly to Asian manufacturing windows and European refinery operations.