What Time Zone Is Los Angeles In?
Los Angeles operates on America/Los_Angeles, abbreviated as PST, which is currently UTC-08:00 from Coordinated Universal Time. The IANA Time Zone Database (also known as the tz database or zoneinfo) records this under the identifier America/Los_Angeles. That identifier is what your phone, laptop, and every major web service uses when they display a localized time for Los Angeles.
The designation America/Los_Angeles follows the IANA convention of naming zones after the largest city in that timezone region. This naming is geographic, not political, it reflects where the zone is observed, not which government controls it. The full record for this zone, including historical UTC offsets and past DST rule changes, is publicly available in the Wikipedia list of tz database time zones.
UTC Offset: Los Angeles vs. The World
The current UTC offset in Los Angeles is UTC-08:00. This means Los Angeles time is 08:00 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. To quickly convert: if it's 12:00 UTC right now, it's 20:47 local time in Los Angeles.
Relative to other major cities: Los Angeles is -3 hours behind New York, and -8 hours behind London (including any DST difference currently in effect). These differences can shift by one hour during DST transitions, which occur on different dates in different regions.
Business Hours in Los Angeles
Standard business hours in Los Angeles run from 09:00 to 18:00 local time (America/Los_Angeles). In UTC, that window is 17:47 to 02:47 UTC. If you're trying to schedule a call with someone in Los Angeles:
- From New York: the Los Angeles business day runs 12:47 to 21:47 New York time.
- From London: the Los Angeles business day runs 17:47 to 02:47 London time.
Use the hour-by-hour conversion table above for the full 24-hour breakdown.
Daylight Saving Time in Los Angeles
The DST indicator above shows whether Los Angeles currently observes Daylight Saving Time. When DST is active, clocks advance by one hour, shifting the UTC offset by +1 and changing the abbreviation (for example, from EST to EDT in New York). When DST ends, clocks fall back and the offset returns to its standard value.
Not all countries observe DST. Japan, China, India, most of Africa, and several other nations maintain a fixed offset year-round. Whether America/Los_Angeles observes DST, and the exact dates of transitions, is governed by the rules stored in the IANA Time Zone Database , the same source your phone uses. The Wikipedia article on Daylight Saving Time provides a global map and country-by-country breakdown of DST observance.
Sunrise and Sunset in Los Angeles
Today in Los Angeles (34.1°N, 118.2°W), sunrise is approximately 06:22 and sunset is approximately 17:48 local time (America/Los_Angeles). These times are calculated using the Spencer equation for solar declination and apply to today's date. Latitude significantly affects day length: cities near the equator see roughly 12 hours of daylight year-round, while high-latitude cities experience dramatic swings, midsummer days can exceed 20 hours near the Arctic Circle, while midwinter days shrink to under 4 hours. At 34.1° latitude, Los Angeles's day length varies by several hours between summer and winter solstice.
Best Time to Call Los Angeles from Abroad
Standard business hours in Los Angeles run 09:00 to 18:00 local time (America/Los_Angeles). For international callers, the ideal window is 10:00 to 16:00 Los Angeles time : after the morning rush and before the end-of-day slowdown. In UTC, this translates to 18:47 to 00:47 UTC. Avoid calling before 09:00 or after 20:00 Los Angeles time, these windows fall outside acceptable business etiquette in most professional settings. If you are calling from New York,Los Angeles business hours correspond to 12:47 to 21:47 Eastern time. From London, that same window is 17:47 to 02:47 GMT/BST.
Los Angeles Time vs Major World Cities
Right now, Los Angeles (UTC-08:00) is offset from major business hubs as follows:
- New York: Los Angeles is 3 hours behind New York right now (UTC-05:00).
- London: Los Angeles is 8 hours behind London right now (UTC+00:00).
- Dubai: Los Angeles is 12 hours behind Dubai right now (UTC+04:00).
- Singapore: Los Angeles is 16 hours behind Singapore right now (UTC+08:00).
- Tokyo: Los Angeles is 17 hours behind Tokyo right now (UTC+09:00).
- Sydney: Los Angeles is 19 hours behind Sydney right now (UTC+11:00).
These differences shift by one hour during DST transitions, which occur on different dates in different regions. Always verify the current offset before scheduling.
Geographic Location of Los Angeles
Los Angeles sits at 34.0522°N, -118.2437°W. Solar noon, the moment the sun reaches its highest point, occurs at approximately 12:47 local time, when the sun crosses the meridian above Los Angeles. The IANA timezone America/Los_Angeles groups Los Angeles with nearby cities that share the same legal time, even if they sit at slightly different longitudes and therefore experience solar noon at slightly different moments. Zone boundaries are drawn along political borders and transportation corridors, not strict meridian lines.
Los Angeles: Size, Population, and Location
Los Angeles has a population of approximately 3,820,914 people, placing it among the world's major metropolitan areas. The city sits at 34°3'N, 118°14'W (decimal: 34.0522°, -118.2437°),34.1 degrees north of the equator.
At 34.1° latitude, Los Angeles experiences moderate seasonal variation in day length, expect roughly 9-10 hours of daylight in winter and 14-16 hours in summer. Today, Los Angeles sees sunrise at 06:22 and sunset at 17:48 local time. The IANA timezone America/Los_Angeles groups Los Angeles with nearby cities that share the same legal clock, even if they sit at slightly different longitudes with marginally different solar noon times.
Working Hours Overlap: Los Angeles and Key Partners
Los Angeles's standard working day (09:00–18:00 local, America/Los_Angeles) translates to different hours for common international partners:
- San Francisco (America/Los_Angeles): Los Angeles's workday runs 09:47 to 18:47 Pacific time.
- Berlin (Europe/Berlin): Los Angeles's workday runs 18:47 to 03:47 Central European time.
Overlap windows, times when both cities are within 09:00–18:00, are the practical window for real-time collaboration. Use the time difference tool on this site to find the shared working window for any pair of cities.