Nashville is in the Central Time Zone. In winter (standard time), that’s UTC−6, known as Central Standard Time (CST). In summer (daylight saving time), it shifts to UTC−5, called Central Daylight Time (CDT).
The IANA time zone identifier is America/Chicago, which Nashville shares with Chicago, Memphis, Dallas, and most of the Midwest.
Daylight Saving Time Dates
Nashville follows the standard US schedule for daylight saving time:
- Spring forward: Second Sunday in March (clocks go to 2:00 AM → 3:00 AM)
- Fall back: First Sunday in November (clocks go to 2:00 AM → 1:00 AM)
In 2026, that means March 8 and November 1.
How Nashville Time Compares to Major Cities
Nashville runs one hour behind Eastern Time cities like New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Miami. A meeting at noon in New York is 11:00 AM Nashville time.
Nashville is the same time as Chicago, Memphis, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Kansas City.
Nashville is one hour ahead of Mountain Time cities like Denver and Phoenix (when Phoenix observes MDT, which it doesn’t during standard time; Arizona is its own complication).
Nashville is two hours ahead of Los Angeles and Seattle on the Pacific Coast.
The State Line Quirk
Tennessee itself straddles two time zones. The eastern third of the state, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Johnson City, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Nashville and Memphis, in Middle and West Tennessee, are Central. This means a drive from Nashville to Knoxville crosses a time zone boundary somewhere around Cookeville on I-40. If you have a noon lunch reservation in Knoxville and you’re leaving Nashville at 9:00 AM Central, that’s actually only two hours before your reservation in local time, not three.
For planning purposes when visiting Nashville: if you’re flying in from the East Coast, set your watch back one hour when you land. Your phone will do it automatically, but your body clock won’t.
Sources
- IANA Time Zone Database: America/Chicago
- U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), daylight saving time schedule
- Tennessee Department of Transportation, state highway information