Chicago uses the America/Chicago time zone, with CST (UTC -6:00) during standard time and CDT (UTC -5:00) during daylight saving time.
America/Chicago
CDT
CST
UTC -6:00
CDT
UTC -5:00
Follows local rules
/
Chicago runs on Central Time (CST/CDT) — the reference for most of the middle third of the US. CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and CBOE options exchange both anchor here. Business hours 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM CT. Multi-office US calls with Chicago often use "10 AM ET / 9 AM CT" — the 1-h offset from Eastern is the most-common domestic US timezone conversion after ET / PT.
North America runs five continental-US timezones (Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaskan) plus Newfoundland (a 30-minute offset from Atlantic Time — one of the few 30-minute timezones outside Asia). DST is nearly universal (except Arizona, Hawaii, most of Saskatchewan) and runs March → November. Business scheduling defaults to Eastern for multi-office US corporations regardless of headquarters.
Local Exchange
Chicago Mercantile Exchange — global futures and derivatives hub.
These cities share the same time zone as Chicago.
Major cities in United States — some may be in a different time zone.
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