Detroit, MI · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Detroit, Michigan
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 17 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 04 min
Detroit daylight through 2026
Daylight in Detroit runs from 9 h 04 min on December 21 to 15 h 17 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 6 h 13 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 41st 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.
Detroit daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 30 min | 7:46 AM to 8:01 AM | 5:10 PM to 5:45 PM |
| February | 10 h 35 min | 7:09 AM to 7:45 AM | 5:46 PM to 6:21 PM |
| March | 11 h 58 min | 6:57 AM to 7:56 AM | 6:22 PM to 7:57 PM |
| April | 13 h 24 min | 6:28 AM to 7:14 AM | 7:58 PM to 8:31 PM |
| May | 14 h 37 min | 5:58 AM to 6:27 AM | 8:32 PM to 9:02 PM |
| June | 15 h 14 min | 5:54 AM to 5:58 AM | 9:02 PM to 9:13 PM |
| July | 14 h 55 min | 5:59 AM to 6:24 AM | 8:53 PM to 9:13 PM |
| August | 13 h 50 min | 6:25 AM to 6:56 AM | 8:07 PM to 8:51 PM |
| September | 12 h 28 min | 6:57 AM to 7:28 AM | 7:15 PM to 8:06 PM |
| October | 11 h 02 min | 7:29 AM to 8:04 AM | 6:26 PM to 7:13 PM |
| November | 9 h 47 min | 7:05 AM to 7:41 AM | 5:00 PM to 5:25 PM |
| December | 9 h 08 min | 7:42 AM to 8:01 AM | 4:59 PM to 5:09 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 13 at 5:54 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 9:13 PM. The latest sunrise is 8:04 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. Detroit sits at 83.10° W, so the sun runs about 32 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:41 PM on January 15 and 1:38 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Lansing, the state capital, gets 3 minutes more daylight than Detroit on June 21 and 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo, NY | 42.89° N | 15 h 21 min | 9 h 01 min |
| Lansing, MI | 42.71° N | 15 h 20 min | 9 h 02 min |
| Sterling Heights, MI | 42.58° N | 15 h 19 min | 9 h 03 min |
| Warren, MI | 42.49° N | 15 h 18 min | 9 h 04 min |
| Detroit, MI | 42.38° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 04 min |
| Dearborn, MI | 42.31° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Ann Arbor, MI | 42.28° N | 15 h 17 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Toledo, OH | 41.66° N | 15 h 12 min | 9 h 09 min |
| Cleveland, OH | 41.48° N | 15 h 11 min | 9 h 10 min |
| Akron, OH | 41.08° N | 15 h 08 min | 9 h 13 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Detroit?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 17 min of daylight: sunrise 5:55 AM, sunset 9:12 PM.
What is the shortest day in Detroit?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 04 min: sunrise 7:58 AM, sunset 5:02 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Detroit?
9:13 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:59 PM on December 4.
What time zone is Detroit in?
America/Detroit. 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 Detroit, 42.383° N, 83.102° 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.