Fresh Calendars

Time Change

Sunset Times After Daylight Saving Time Ends: When It Gets Dark in 20 U.S. Cities, and the Earliest Sunset

Sunset jumps an hour earlier on Nov. 1, 2026: 4:52 p.m. in New York, 4:45 in Chicago. Naval Observatory data, 20 cities, plus each city's earliest sunset date.

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Published 4 min read

WASHINGTON

Sunset times after daylight saving time ends: a city skyline at dusk and a clock turning back one hour, with New York sunset moving from 5:53 to 4:52 p.m.
New York's sunset moves from 5:53 p.m. on Oct. 31 to 4:52 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2026, when clocks fall back; the earliest sunset of the year follows in early December. Illustration: Fresh Calendars

1 free printable below ↓

In this article
  1. Sunset before and after the clock change
  2. Why the drop is a little more than an hour
  3. The earliest sunset is not on the shortest day
  4. How much daylight on Dec. 21
  5. What it means for your evenings

When clocks fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, sunset moves about an hour earlier overnight. In New York, the sun sets at 5:53 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31 and at 4:52 p.m. on Sunday, according to U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) data. The evenings keep shrinking after that, and the earliest sunset of the year arrives in early December, about two weeks before the shortest day.

Sunset before and after the clock change

CitySat., Oct. 31Sun., Nov. 1Earliest sunsetDates
New York5:53 p.m.4:52 p.m.4:28 p.m.Dec. 6-9
Boston5:39 p.m.4:37 p.m.4:11 p.m.Dec. 8-9
Philadelphia5:59 p.m.4:58 p.m.4:35 p.m.Dec. 5-10
Washington, D.C.6:09 p.m.5:07 p.m.4:46 p.m.Dec. 1-12
Atlanta6:46 p.m.5:45 p.m.5:29 p.m.Nov. 27-Dec. 11
Miami6:40 p.m.5:39 p.m.5:29 p.m.Nov. 25-Dec. 4
Detroit6:27 p.m.5:25 p.m.5:00 p.m.Dec. 2-15
Chicago5:46 p.m.4:45 p.m.4:19 p.m.Dec. 5-11
Minneapolis6:02 p.m.5:01 p.m.4:31 p.m.Dec. 8-11
Dallas6:37 p.m.5:36 p.m.5:21 p.m.Nov. 27-Dec. 11
Houston6:35 p.m.5:35 p.m.5:22 p.m.Nov. 25-Dec. 9
Denver5:59 p.m.4:58 p.m.4:35 p.m.Dec. 4-10
Phoenix5:37 p.m.5:36 p.m.5:20 p.m.Nov. 30-Dec. 8
Salt Lake City6:25 p.m.5:24 p.m.5:00 p.m.Dec. 2-13
Seattle5:53 p.m.4:51 p.m.4:18 p.m.Dec. 5-16
Portland, Ore.5:59 p.m.4:57 p.m.4:27 p.m.Dec. 6-13
San Francisco6:12 p.m.5:11 p.m.4:51 p.m.Nov. 29-Dec. 13
Los Angeles6:01 p.m.5:00 p.m.4:43 p.m.Dec. 2-6
Anchorage6:00 p.m.4:57 p.m.3:40 p.m.Dec. 14-18
Honolulu5:56 p.m.5:55 p.m.5:48 p.m.Nov. 21-Dec. 1

Times are local clock time for each city center. USNO rounds to the minute, so a city’s earliest sunset holds for several days in a row; the dates show that stretch.

Why the drop is a little more than an hour

The clock change itself moves sunset by exactly one hour. The extra minute or two in most cities is the normal daily shrinkage: in late October and early November, sunset comes about a minute earlier each day at mid-northern latitudes. Anchorage loses more, about three minutes a day, which is why its sunset falls from 6:00 p.m. to 4:57 p.m.

Phoenix and Honolulu are the exceptions. Most of Arizona and all of Hawaii stay on standard time all year, so their sunsets move by only the usual one minute.

The earliest sunset is not on the shortest day

The winter solstice is Monday, Dec. 21, 2026, the day with the least daylight. But in most of the country the earliest sunset comes one to three weeks earlier. That happens because solar noon, the moment the sun is highest, drifts later through December as Earth speeds up near the closest point of its orbit, which it reaches in early January. Sunset starts getting later in mid-December while sunrise keeps getting later until early January.

The pattern shifts with latitude. Southern cities such as Miami and Houston reach their earliest sunset in late November, while Anchorage, far to the north, does not reach it until mid-December, close to the solstice.

How much daylight on Dec. 21

CitySunriseSunsetDaylight
New York7:17 a.m.4:32 p.m.9 h 15 m
Chicago7:15 a.m.4:23 p.m.9 h 8 m
Denver7:18 a.m.4:39 p.m.9 h 21 m
Seattle7:55 a.m.4:20 p.m.8 h 25 m
Los Angeles6:55 a.m.4:48 p.m.9 h 53 m
Miami7:03 a.m.5:35 p.m.10 h 32 m
Anchorage10:14 a.m.3:41 p.m.5 h 27 m

The free printable below has all 20 cities.

What it means for your evenings

The first week of November brings the sharpest change in daily routines: school pickup, a dog walk or an evening run that happened in daylight on Saturday can be in twilight by Monday. Civil twilight, when there is still enough light for most outdoor activity, lasts about 25 to 30 minutes after sunset in most of the continental U.S. in November.

Halloween night, Saturday, Oct. 31, is the last evening on daylight time; see our Halloween sunset and trick-or-treat times. For the clock change itself, including the Senate bill that would make daylight time permanent, read our story on daylight saving time ending Nov. 1 and the guide to when daylight saving time ends. The full moon of Oct. 26 rises right around sunset; see the Hunter’s Moon times.

Plan the shorter days on our November and December printable calendars, and print the sunset chart below for the fridge.

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.

Sunset times printable

  • Sunset times after the clock change 2026 printable with a chart of five cities and a table of 20 U.S. cities

    Sunset Times After the Clock Change, 2026

    A chart of sunset times from October to January for five cities, plus Oct. 31, Nov. 1, earliest-sunset and Dec. 21 times for 20 U.S. cities.

    PDF · 1 page · US Letter

    Download PDFPNG
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Frequently asked questions

What time is sunset on Nov. 1, 2026?

It depends on the city: 4:52 p.m. in New York, 4:37 p.m. in Boston, 4:45 p.m. in Chicago, 4:58 p.m. in Denver and 5:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

When is the earliest sunset of 2026?

In early December, a couple of weeks before the solstice. New York's earliest sunset is 4:28 p.m. from Dec. 6 to Dec. 9; Chicago's is 4:19 p.m. from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11; Seattle's is 4:18 p.m. from Dec. 5 to Dec. 16.

Why is the earliest sunset not on the shortest day?

Because Earth's orbit is elliptical and its axis is tilted, solar noon drifts later through December. Sunrise keeps getting later into early January while sunset starts getting later in mid-December, so the day is shortest on Dec. 21 even though the earliest sunset came before it.

How much daylight is there on Dec. 21, 2026?

About 9 hours 15 minutes in New York, 9 hours 8 minutes in Chicago, 8 hours 25 minutes in Seattle and 9 hours 53 minutes in Los Angeles, from U.S. Naval Observatory sunrise and sunset times.

Does sunset change in Arizona when the clocks change?

No. Most of Arizona, including Phoenix, stays on Mountain Standard Time all year, so its sunset moves only about a minute from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. Hawaii also does not change clocks.

Sources

  1. Sun and Moon Rise/Set/Transit Times for One Day (API) (U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department)
  2. Daylight Saving Time (U.S. Department of Transportation)