Mexico Time Difference After Nov. 1, 2026: US Clocks Fall Back, Mexico Mostly Stays
US clocks go back at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, but most of Mexico does not, so Mexico City matches Chicago. Tables of every zone and the border towns.
Published 4 min read
Key date
- Nov 1SunUS clocks fall back; Mexico City moves to Chicago's timeIn 4 days+ Google
In this article
US clocks go back one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but most of Mexico does not change under its Federal Law on Time Zones (Ley de los Husos Horarios en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos). So from Nov. 1, Mexico City is on the same time as Chicago, and Cancun is on the same time as New York. Only listed towns along the northern border move their clocks that night.
The tables below are our calculation from the two laws. A one-page printable list of the US-Mexico time differences is on this page for your desk.
Does Mexico change clocks on Nov. 1, 2026?
Mostly no. Article 4 of the Mexican law says that “únicamente se aplicará un horario estacional para los estados y municipios de la frontera norte”: seasonal time applies only to the states and municipalities of the northern border. The law was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF), Mexico’s official gazette, on Oct. 28, 2022, which makes today its fourth anniversary. Its last reform was published Nov. 29, 2022.
The law sets four zones in Article 3. We converted each meridian to an offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), so “UTC-6” means six hours behind UTC.
| Zone | Meridian | Where | UTC offset (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zona Centro | 90° west | Most of the country, including Mexico City | UTC-6 |
| Zona Pacífico | 105° west | Baja California Sur, Nayarit (except the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, which is in Centro), Sinaloa, Sonora | UTC-7 |
| Zona Noroeste | 120° west | Baja California | UTC-8 |
| Zona Sureste | 75° west | Quintana Roo (Cancun) | UTC-5 |
What is the time difference between Mexico and the US after Nov. 1?
The US side shifts on Nov. 1 while these Mexican zones do not. Eastern Time (ET), Central Time (CT), Mountain Time (MT) and Pacific Time (PT) go from daylight to standard time: Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is UTC-4 and Eastern Standard Time (EST) is UTC-5; Central Daylight Time (CDT) is UTC-5 and Central Standard Time (CST) is UTC-6; Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is UTC-6 and Mountain Standard Time (MST) is UTC-7; Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) is UTC-7 and Pacific Standard Time (PST) is UTC-8.
NIST says that “during 2026, daylight saving time is in effect from March 8 at 2 a.m. (local time) to November 1 at 2 a.m. (local time).” US law (15 U.S.C. 260a) ends it “at 2 o’clock antemeridian on the first Sunday of November.”
| Mexican place (UTC offset, all year) | Compared with | Until Oct. 31 | From Nov. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico City, Zona Centro (UTC-6) | New York | 2 hours behind | 1 hour behind |
| Mexico City | Chicago | 1 hour behind | Same time |
| Mexico City | Denver | Same time | 1 hour ahead |
| Mexico City | Los Angeles | 1 hour ahead | 2 hours ahead |
| Cancun, Zona Sureste (UTC-5) | New York | 1 hour behind | Same time |
| Cancun | Chicago | Same time | 1 hour ahead |
| Cancun | Denver | 1 hour ahead | 2 hours ahead |
| Cancun | Los Angeles | 2 hours ahead | 3 hours ahead |
| Sonora, Sinaloa and the rest of Zona Pacífico (UTC-7) | New York | 3 hours behind | 2 hours behind |
| Zona Pacífico | Chicago | 2 hours behind | 1 hour behind |
| Zona Pacífico | Denver | 1 hour behind | Same time |
| Zona Pacífico | Los Angeles | Same time | 1 hour ahead |
Most of Arizona also stays on standard time all year, as our report on the US change explains.
Which Mexican border towns change clocks on Nov. 1?
Article 5 lists the places on seasonal time. Its last paragraph says seasonal time runs “desde las dos horas del segundo domingo de marzo, y concluirá a las dos horas del primer domingo de noviembre”: from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. That is the same rule as the US, so in 2026 these places set clocks back at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, the same night as the US.
| State | Places in Article 5 |
|---|---|
| Coahuila | Acuña, Allende, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jiménez, Morelos, Nava, Ocampo, Piedras Negras, Villa Unión, Zaragoza |
| Nuevo León | Anáhuac |
| Tamaulipas | Nuevo Laredo, Guerrero, Mier, Miguel Alemán, Camargo, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Reynosa, Río Bravo, Valle Hermoso, Matamoros |
| Chihuahua | Coyame del Sotol, Ojinaga, Manuel Benavides (fraction amended Nov. 29, 2022); Janos, Ascensión, Juárez, Praxedis G. Guerrero, Guadalupe (added Nov. 29, 2022) |
| Baja California | The whole state, including Tijuana |
Since the 2022 law, only the northern border uses seasonal time. If your town is not in the table, it does not change.
When does the next change happen?
The same Article 5 rule puts the next change at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March. For the US, that is when daylight saving time returns; see our daylight saving time guide. For Canada’s split, read which provinces skip the Nov. 1 change.
Quick checklist for Nov. 1
- Find your Mexican zone in the first table, then your US city in the second.
- Recheck any recurring call between the US and Mexico: the gap changes by one hour on Nov. 1 for every zone outside the border list.
- Mark Nov. 1 on a November 2026 printable calendar.
Free printable downloads
Every template is free, needs no sign-up and prints on US Letter paper. Choose PDF for printing or PNG for screens and documents.
US-Mexico Time Difference printables
US-Mexico Time Difference, Before and After Nov. 1, 2026
One-page list of the time difference between Mexican zones and US cities before and after US clocks fall back on Nov. 1, 2026.
US-Mexico Time Difference, Before and After Nov. 1, 2026 (ink saver)
One-page list of the time difference between Mexican zones and US cities before and after US clocks fall back on Nov. 1, 2026. Ink-saver version.
Frequently asked questions
Does Mexico change clocks in November 2026?
Mostly no. Mexico's Federal Law on Time Zones allows seasonal time only for the northern border, so Mexico City, Cancun and the Pacific zone stay on their time. Listed border municipalities set clocks back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
What time is it in Mexico City compared with New York after Nov. 1?
Mexico City is 1 hour behind New York from Nov. 1, 2026. Until Oct. 31 it was 2 hours behind. This is our calculation from UTC-6 for Mexico City and UTC-5 for New York on Eastern Standard Time.
Is Cancun on New York time in winter?
From Nov. 1, 2026, yes. Quintana Roo is on UTC-5 all year, and New York returns to Eastern Standard Time at UTC-5. Until Oct. 31, Cancun was 1 hour behind New York.
Does Tijuana change its clocks on Nov. 1, 2026?
Yes. Article 5 of the law lists the whole state of Baja California, which includes Tijuana, in the seasonal-time group that ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November.
Sources
- Ley de los Husos Horarios en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (last reform DOF 29-11-2022) (Cámara de Diputados, Mexico, 2022-11-29)
- Daylight Saving Time (DST) (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST))
- 15 U.S. Code 260a - Advancement of time or changes in time within time belts (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
