What time is it in Charleston, South Carolina?

Charleston is currently on daylight saving time. The next change is Sunday, November 1, 2026, when 2:00 am becomes 1:00 am local time.

Charleston sits at 32.83°N, 79.97°W. For sunrise and sunset there — which do depend on exactly where it is, unlike the clock — see sunrise and sunset in Charleston.

The clock says the same thing everywhere in Eastern Daylight Time, but the sun does not. Over Charleston it is highest at 1:11 pm today — 71 minutes after clock noon.

At 80.0°W, Charleston sits well toward the western edge of its zone, which is why the sun stays up later here than the clock suggests. Daylight saving adds another hour on top until the clocks change.

Today runs 12 hours 2 minutes in Charleston, and the day is getting shorter by 2 minutes a day. Across the year it swings 4 hours 20 minutes, from 14 hours 19 minutes at the June solstice down to 9 hours 59 minutes in December.

At 32.8°N that puts Charleston between Kailua at 2 hours 22 minutes and Fairbanks at 18 hours 9 minutes.