Charleston, SC · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Charleston, South Carolina
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 19 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 59 min
Charleston daylight through 2026
Daylight in Charleston runs from 9 h 59 min on December 21 to 14 h 19 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 20 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 267th of 342 US cities of 100,000+, where 1st is the largest. Around the March equinox the city gets 12 h 08 min, and around the September equinox 12 h 08 min.
Charleston daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 17 min | 7:15 AM to 7:23 AM | 5:24 PM to 5:51 PM |
| February | 11 h 02 min | 6:48 AM to 7:14 AM | 5:52 PM to 6:16 PM |
| March | 12 h 00 min | 6:40 AM to 7:39 AM | 6:17 PM to 7:39 PM |
| April | 13 h 01 min | 6:33 AM to 7:07 AM | 7:40 PM to 8:01 PM |
| May | 13 h 52 min | 6:12 AM to 6:32 AM | 8:01 PM to 8:22 PM |
| June | 14 h 17 min | 6:11 AM to 6:15 AM | 8:23 PM to 8:32 PM |
| July | 14 h 04 min | 6:15 AM to 6:33 AM | 8:19 PM to 8:32 PM |
| August | 13 h 19 min | 6:33 AM to 6:53 AM | 7:45 PM to 8:18 PM |
| September | 12 h 21 min | 6:54 AM to 7:13 AM | 7:05 PM to 7:44 PM |
| October | 11 h 21 min | 7:14 AM to 7:36 AM | 6:29 PM to 7:04 PM |
| November | 10 h 29 min | 6:37 AM to 7:03 AM | 5:13 PM to 5:28 PM |
| December | 10 h 02 min | 7:04 AM to 7:22 AM | 5:13 PM to 5:23 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 4 at 6:11 AM and the latest sunset on June 26 at 8:32 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:39 AM on March 8. 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. Charleston sits at 79.97° W, so the sun runs about 20 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:29 PM on January 15 and 1:25 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Columbia, the state capital, gets 6 minutes more daylight than Charleston on June 21 and 6 minutes less on December 21. Day length depends on latitude, so the table lists the paired cities from north to south.
| City | Latitude | June 21 | December 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concord, NC | 35.39° N | 14 h 33 min | 9 h 46 min |
| Charlotte, NC | 35.21° N | 14 h 32 min | 9 h 47 min |
| Fayetteville, NC | 35.08° N | 14 h 31 min | 9 h 48 min |
| Wilmington, NC | 34.21° N | 14 h 26 min | 9 h 52 min |
| Columbia, SC | 34.04° N | 14 h 26 min | 9 h 53 min |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA | 33.37° N | 14 h 22 min | 9 h 57 min |
| North Charleston, SC | 32.92° N | 14 h 20 min | 9 h 59 min |
| Charleston, SC | 32.83° N | 14 h 19 min | 9 h 59 min |
| Savannah, GA | 32.02° N | 14 h 15 min | 10 h 03 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Charleston?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 19 min of daylight: sunrise 6:12 AM, sunset 8:31 PM.
What is the shortest day in Charleston?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 59 min: sunrise 7:18 AM, sunset 5:17 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Charleston?
8:32 PM on June 26, 2026. The earliest sunset is 5:13 PM on November 27.
What time zone is Charleston 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 Charleston, 32.828° N, 79.973° 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.