Boston, MA · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Boston, Massachusetts
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 17 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 05 min
Boston daylight through 2026
Daylight in Boston runs from 9 h 05 min on December 21 to 15 h 17 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 6 h 12 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 43rd of 342 US cities of 100,000+, where 1st is the largest. Around the March equinox the city gets 12 h 09 min, and around the September equinox 12 h 10 min.
Boston daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 30 min | 6:58 AM to 7:13 AM | 4:22 PM to 4:57 PM |
| February | 10 h 35 min | 6:20 AM to 6:57 AM | 4:58 PM to 5:32 PM |
| March | 11 h 58 min | 6:09 AM to 7:07 AM | 5:34 PM to 7:08 PM |
| April | 13 h 24 min | 5:40 AM to 6:26 AM | 7:10 PM to 7:42 PM |
| May | 14 h 37 min | 5:10 AM to 5:39 AM | 7:43 PM to 8:13 PM |
| June | 15 h 14 min | 5:06 AM to 5:10 AM | 8:14 PM to 8:25 PM |
| July | 14 h 55 min | 5:11 AM to 5:35 AM | 8:04 PM to 8:24 PM |
| August | 13 h 50 min | 5:36 AM to 6:08 AM | 7:19 PM to 8:03 PM |
| September | 12 h 28 min | 6:09 AM to 6:40 AM | 6:27 PM to 7:17 PM |
| October | 11 h 03 min | 6:41 AM to 7:16 AM | 5:38 PM to 6:25 PM |
| November | 9 h 48 min | 6:17 AM to 6:52 AM | 4:12 PM to 4:37 PM |
| December | 9 h 08 min | 6:53 AM to 7:13 AM | 4:11 PM to 4:21 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 11 at 5:06 AM and the latest sunset on June 26 at 8:25 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:16 AM on October 31. Daylight saving time starts and ends on March 8 and November 1, which shifts every clock time by an hour.
On standard time the clocks run 5 hours behind UTC, the time of the 75° W meridian. Boston sits at 71.02° W, so the sun runs about 16 minutes ahead of the zone clock. Solar noon is at 11:53 AM on January 15 and 12:50 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Boston is the capital of Massachusetts. Day length depends on latitude, so the table lists the paired cities from north to south.
| City | Latitude | June 21 | December 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester, NH | 42.98° N | 15 h 22 min | 9 h 00 min |
| Lowell, MA | 42.64° N | 15 h 19 min | 9 h 03 min |
| Lynn, MA | 42.47° N | 15 h 18 min | 9 h 04 min |
| Cambridge, MA | 42.38° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 04 min |
| Boston, MA | 42.34° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Worcester, MA | 42.27° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Quincy, MA | 42.26° N | 15 h 16 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Brockton, MA | 42.08° N | 15 h 15 min | 9 h 06 min |
| Providence, RI | 41.82° N | 15 h 13 min | 9 h 08 min |
| New Bedford, MA | 41.66° N | 15 h 12 min | 9 h 09 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Boston?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 17 min of daylight: sunrise 5:07 AM, sunset 8:24 PM.
What is the shortest day in Boston?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 05 min: sunrise 7:09 AM, sunset 4:14 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Boston?
8:25 PM on June 26, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:11 PM on December 3.
What time zone is Boston in?
America/New_York. Clocks change on March 8 (to EDT) and November 1 (to EST) in 2026.
Sources and data as of
Data as of: computed for 2026 at the Census internal point of Boston, 42.339° N, 71.018° W; time zone from Open-Meteo.
- 01SunCalc library (Vladimir Agafonkin), algorithms after Jean Meeus
- 02IANA time zone database (clock times and daylight saving rules)
How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.