Central vs Mountain Time: Exact Hour Difference & Zone Map
Central Time (CT) is UTC-6 standard, UTC-5 daylight; Mountain Time (MT) is UTC-7 standard, UTC-6 daylight—always one hour behind CT.
People confuse them because TV schedules list both zones together, and half the year daylight saving shifts the offset, making the gap seem larger on calendars.
Key Differences
CT covers Chicago to New Orleans; MT spans Denver to Phoenix. CT observes DST except parts of Kansas; Arizona in MT mostly skips DST, widening the gap to two hours in summer.
Examples and Daily Life
If your Zoom call is 3 p.m. CT, Denver colleagues join at 2 p.m. MT. Set airline apps to local zone: a 9 a.m. departure from LAX lands 3 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. MT.
Is the difference always 60 minutes?
Yes, except Arizona’s non-DST summer creates a two-hour gap with CT.
How do I convert without an app?
Subtract one hour from CT to get MT; add one to go from MT to CT.
Do streaming services adjust automatically?
Most platforms display times in the viewer’s detected zone, so set your profile correctly.