Michigan (MI) Time Zone - WhichTimezone

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What is the time zone of Michigan?

The state of Michigan is divided into two time zones. The vast majority, including cities as Detroit and Grand Rapids, are in the Eastern Time zone and observing daylight savings so there are two different clocks depending on the time of year. 

  • Eastern Standard Time (EST): – 5:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
  • Eastern Daylight Time (ECDT): – 6:00 UTC/GMT (behind)

Only the four northern Michigan counties bordering with Wisconsin and covering about 9% of the state are in the Central Time zone. They are also observing daylight savings so there are two different clocks depending on the time of year.

  • Central Standard Time (CST): – 6:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
  • Central Daylight Time (CDT): – 7:00 UTC/GMT (behind)
Central Time
Eastern Time
USA time zone map 1
Click to enlarge
us state Michigan counties time zone map
Michigan time zone

Zone boundary

The Michigan boundary line between two time zones follows the north borders of the counties Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron and Menominee.

Michigan time zone border
Michigan time zone border

The official border is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §71.5. (a):

Michigan Code of Federal Regulations

Daylight savings time (DST)

Michigan is using daylight savings as also documented in the Uniform Time Act of 1966. During daylight savings the time changes from Standard time to Daylight time, so CST becomes CDT and EST becomes EDT depending on the location.

It starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In March the clock is moved forward from 02.00 am to 03.00 am (so you will lose an hour of sleep during the night). While in November it’s reversed as the clock is moved backward from 03.00 am to 02.00 am and you will gain an extra hour of sleep. One way of remembering the movement sequence is that clocks “spring forward and fall back”.

The total period of daylight savings lasts for 34 weeks which is about 65% of the year.

Michigan time news, bills and legislation

There is a continuous debate about which time should be applied. Several bills have been introduced to legalize daylight saving time as the year-round clock, whereas others try to align the time with bordering counties or states. The table below gives an overview of the latest bills in the state of Michigan.

Date Bill Status/Action Title/summary
28 Apr 2021 HB4052 To Senate Government Operations Committee State: other; participation in daylight savings time; eliminate. Creates new act.
11 Mar 2021 SB0231 To Senate Government Operations Committee State: other; participation in daylight savings time; make permanent. Creates new act.
2 Feb 2021 HB4052 Intro, To House Commerce And Tourism Committee State: other; participation in daylight savings time; eliminate. Creates new act.
4 Mar 2020 SF1416 Author added Wiger Advanced standard time effective upon authorization by federal law
13 Nov 2019 HB4303 To House Ways And Means Committee State: other; participation in daylight savings time; eliminate. Creates new act.

Other US states

You can check out information and maps of other US states by clicking on the below links.

Alaskan Time Pacific Time Mountain Time Central Time Eastern Time
Alaska (AK) * California (CA) Arizona (AZ) Alabama (AL) Connecticut (CT)
Idaho (ID) * Colorado (CO) Arkansas (AR) Delaware (DE)
Hawaiian Time Nevada (NV) Idaho (ID) * Florida (FL) * Florida (FL) *
Hawaii (HI) Oregon (OR) * Kansas (KS) * Illinois (IL) Georgia (GA)
Alaska (AK) * Washington (WA) Montana (MT) Indiana (IN) * Indiana (IN) *
Nebraska (NE) * Iowa (IA) Kentucky (KY) *
New Mexico (NM) Kansas (KS) * Maine (ME)
North Dakota (ND) * Kentucky (KY) * Maryland (MD)
Oregon (OR) * Louisiana (LA) Massachusetts (MA)
South Dakota (SD) * Michigan (MI) * Michigan (MI) *
Texas (TX) * Minnesota (MN) New Hampshire (NH)
Utah (UT) Mississippi (MS) New Jersey (NJ)
Wyoming (WY) Missouri (MO) New York (NY)
Nebraska (NE) * North Carolina (NC)
North Dakota (ND) * Ohio (OH)
Oklahoma (OK) Pennsylvania (PA)
South Dakota (SD) * Rhode Island (RI)
Tennessee (TN) * South Carolina (SC)
Texas (TX) * Tennessee (TN) *
Wisconsin (WI) Vermont (VT)
Virginia (VA)
West Virginia (WV)
* = multiple time zones
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