Charlotte, NC · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Charlotte, North Carolina
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 32 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 47 min
Charlotte daylight through 2026
Daylight in Charlotte runs from 9 h 47 min on December 21 to 14 h 32 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 45 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 182nd 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 09 min.
Charlotte daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 06 min | 7:23 AM to 7:32 AM | 5:22 PM to 5:50 PM |
| February | 10 h 56 min | 6:54 AM to 7:22 AM | 5:51 PM to 6:18 PM |
| March | 11 h 59 min | 6:44 AM to 7:43 AM | 6:18 PM to 7:44 PM |
| April | 13 h 06 min | 6:33 AM to 7:09 AM | 7:44 PM to 8:08 PM |
| May | 14 h 02 min | 6:10 AM to 6:32 AM | 8:09 PM to 8:32 PM |
| June | 14 h 30 min | 6:08 AM to 6:12 AM | 8:32 PM to 8:41 PM |
| July | 14 h 15 min | 6:12 AM to 6:31 AM | 8:27 PM to 8:41 PM |
| August | 13 h 26 min | 6:32 AM to 6:55 AM | 7:51 PM to 8:26 PM |
| September | 12 h 23 min | 6:55 AM to 7:17 AM | 7:08 PM to 7:50 PM |
| October | 11 h 17 min | 7:18 AM to 7:43 AM | 6:29 PM to 7:07 PM |
| November | 10 h 19 min | 6:44 AM to 7:12 AM | 5:11 PM to 5:28 PM |
| December | 9 h 50 min | 7:13 AM to 7:31 AM | 5:10 PM to 5:21 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 5 at 6:08 AM and the latest sunset on June 21 at 8:41 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:43 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. Charlotte sits at 80.83° W, so the sun runs about 23 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:32 PM on January 15 and 1:29 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Raleigh, the state capital, gets 3 minutes more daylight than Charlotte on June 21 and 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem, NC | 36.10° N | 14 h 37 min | 9 h 42 min |
| Greensboro, NC | 36.09° N | 14 h 37 min | 9 h 42 min |
| High Point, NC | 35.99° N | 14 h 36 min | 9 h 43 min |
| Durham, NC | 35.98° N | 14 h 36 min | 9 h 43 min |
| Cary, NC | 35.78° N | 14 h 35 min | 9 h 44 min |
| 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 |
| Columbia, SC | 34.04° N | 14 h 26 min | 9 h 53 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 |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Charlotte?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 32 min of daylight: sunrise 6:09 AM, sunset 8:41 PM.
What is the shortest day in Charlotte?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 47 min: sunrise 7:28 AM, sunset 5:15 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Charlotte?
8:41 PM on June 21, 2026. The earliest sunset is 5:10 PM on December 3.
What time zone is Charlotte 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 Charlotte, 35.209° N, 80.831° 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.