Time in Massachusetts, as in all US states, is regulated by the United States Department of Transportation.[1] Massachusetts is in the Eastern Time Zone (ET) and observes daylight saving time (DST).

Time in Massachusetts
 TimeUTC
Standard time (winter)Eastern Standard Time (EST)UTC−05:00
Daylight time (summer)Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)UTC−04:00

Independent of daylight saving time, solar noon on the March equinox is about 12:00 in Western Massachusetts and 11:47 in Nantucket to the east. New England, which includes Massachusetts, is one of the few areas in the United States where solar noon is before noon.

United States time zones
Solar noon (independent of DST)[2]
Date
(approx.)		Location
PittsfieldBostonNantucket
March equinox12:0011:5111:47
June solstice11:5511:4611:42
September equinox11:4611:3711:33
December solstice11:5111:4211:38

In 2016, a committee in the state was formed to consider having Massachusetts adopt Atlantic Standard Time year round to prevent sunsets from occurring before 16:30 and eliminate the need to change clocks at the beginning and end of daylight saving time.[3] The committee submitted its report to the state legislature in November 2017, recommending the move "under certain circumstances".[4] If passed, Massachusetts would use Atlantic Standard Time all year round without daylight saving time. Other New England states are looking into doing the same.

IANA time zone database

The IANA time zone database identifier for Massachusetts is America/New_York.[5]

See also

Time in New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

References

  1. ↑ "Uniform Time". US Department of Transportation. 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) oversees the Nation's time zones and the uniform observance of Daylight Saving Time. The oversight of time zones was assigned to DOT because time standards are important for many modes of transportation.
  2. ↑ "NOAA Solar Calculator". noaa.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Is it time for Mass. to move to a new time zone? - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  4. ↑ "Report on switch to Atlantic Time Zone OK'd". Lowell Sun. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  5. ↑ "Time Zone Database". www.iana.org.
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