Madison, WI · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Madison, Wisconsin
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 22 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 00 min
Madison daylight through 2026
Daylight in Madison runs from 9 h 00 min on December 21 to 15 h 22 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 6 h 23 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 29th 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.
Madison daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 26 min | 7:13 AM to 7:29 AM | 4:33 PM to 5:09 PM |
| February | 10 h 33 min | 6:35 AM to 7:12 AM | 5:10 PM to 5:45 PM |
| March | 11 h 58 min | 6:23 AM to 7:21 AM | 5:47 PM to 7:23 PM |
| April | 13 h 26 min | 5:52 AM to 6:39 AM | 7:24 PM to 7:57 PM |
| May | 14 h 41 min | 5:21 AM to 5:51 AM | 7:59 PM to 8:29 PM |
| June | 15 h 19 min | 5:17 AM to 5:21 AM | 8:30 PM to 8:41 PM |
| July | 14 h 59 min | 5:22 AM to 5:47 AM | 8:20 PM to 8:40 PM |
| August | 13 h 53 min | 5:48 AM to 6:21 AM | 7:34 PM to 8:18 PM |
| September | 12 h 28 min | 6:22 AM to 6:54 AM | 6:40 PM to 7:32 PM |
| October | 11 h 01 min | 6:55 AM to 7:31 AM | 5:50 PM to 6:38 PM |
| November | 9 h 44 min | 6:32 AM to 7:08 AM | 4:24 PM to 4:49 PM |
| December | 9 h 04 min | 7:09 AM to 7:29 AM | 4:22 PM to 4:32 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 11 at 5:17 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 8:41 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:31 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 6 hours behind UTC, the time of the 90° W meridian. Madison sits at 89.43° W, so the sun runs about 2 minutes ahead of the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:07 PM on January 15 and 1:03 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. Day length depends on latitude, so the table lists the paired cities from north to south.
| City | Latitude | June 21 | December 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis, MN | 44.96° N | 15 h 37 min | 8 h 46 min |
| St. Paul, MN | 44.95° N | 15 h 37 min | 8 h 46 min |
| Green Bay, WI | 44.52° N | 15 h 33 min | 8 h 49 min |
| Rochester, MN | 44.01° N | 15 h 29 min | 8 h 53 min |
| Madison, WI | 43.09° N | 15 h 22 min | 9 h 00 min |
| Milwaukee, WI | 43.06° N | 15 h 22 min | 9 h 00 min |
| Rockford, IL | 42.26° N | 15 h 16 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Elgin, IL | 42.04° N | 15 h 15 min | 9 h 07 min |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 41.96° N | 15 h 14 min | 9 h 07 min |
| Chicago, IL | 41.84° N | 15 h 13 min | 9 h 08 min |
| Aurora, IL | 41.76° N | 15 h 13 min | 9 h 09 min |
| Naperville, IL | 41.75° N | 15 h 13 min | 9 h 09 min |
| Davenport, IA | 41.56° N | 15 h 12 min | 9 h 10 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Madison?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 22 min of daylight: sunrise 5:18 AM, sunset 8:40 PM.
What is the shortest day in Madison?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 00 min: sunrise 7:26 AM, sunset 4:25 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Madison?
8:41 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:22 PM on December 5.
What time zone is Madison in?
America/Chicago. Clocks change on March 8 (to CDT) and November 1 (to CST) in 2026.
Sources and data as of
Data as of: computed for 2026 at the Census internal point of Madison, 43.088° N, 89.430° 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.