Philadelphia, PA · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 01 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 20 min
Philadelphia daylight through 2026
Daylight in Philadelphia runs from 9 h 20 min on December 21 to 15 h 01 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 5 h 41 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 89th 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 09 min.
Philadelphia daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 43 min | 7:09 AM to 7:22 AM | 4:46 PM to 5:18 PM |
| February | 10 h 43 min | 6:35 AM to 7:08 AM | 5:19 PM to 5:51 PM |
| March | 11 h 58 min | 6:24 AM to 7:23 AM | 5:52 PM to 7:23 PM |
| April | 13 h 17 min | 6:01 AM to 6:44 AM | 7:24 PM to 7:54 PM |
| May | 14 h 24 min | 5:34 AM to 6:00 AM | 7:55 PM to 8:22 PM |
| June | 14 h 58 min | 5:31 AM to 5:34 AM | 8:23 PM to 8:33 PM |
| July | 14 h 41 min | 5:35 AM to 5:58 AM | 8:15 PM to 8:33 PM |
| August | 13 h 42 min | 5:59 AM to 6:27 AM | 7:33 PM to 8:14 PM |
| September | 12 h 26 min | 6:28 AM to 6:55 AM | 6:44 PM to 7:31 PM |
| October | 11 h 08 min | 6:56 AM to 7:28 AM | 5:59 PM to 6:42 PM |
| November | 9 h 59 min | 6:29 AM to 7:02 AM | 4:36 PM to 4:58 PM |
| December | 9 h 23 min | 7:03 AM to 7:22 AM | 4:35 PM to 4:45 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 7 at 5:31 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 8:33 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:28 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. Philadelphia sits at 75.13° W, almost on that meridian, so clock noon and solar noon agree closely in winter. Solar noon is at 12:10 PM on January 15 and 1:06 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Harrisburg, the state capital, gets 2 minutes more daylight than Philadelphia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yonkers, NY | 40.95° N | 15 h 07 min | 9 h 14 min |
| Paterson, NJ | 40.91° N | 15 h 07 min | 9 h 14 min |
| Newark, NJ | 40.72° N | 15 h 06 min | 9 h 15 min |
| Jersey City, NJ | 40.71° N | 15 h 06 min | 9 h 15 min |
| Elizabeth, NJ | 40.67° N | 15 h 05 min | 9 h 16 min |
| New York, NY | 40.66° N | 15 h 05 min | 9 h 16 min |
| Allentown, PA | 40.59° N | 15 h 05 min | 9 h 16 min |
| Philadelphia, PA | 40.01° N | 15 h 01 min | 9 h 20 min |
| Baltimore, MD | 39.30° N | 14 h 56 min | 9 h 24 min |
| Washington, DC | 38.90° N | 14 h 54 min | 9 h 26 min |
| Alexandria, VA | 38.82° N | 14 h 53 min | 9 h 27 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Philadelphia?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 01 min of daylight: sunrise 5:31 AM, sunset 8:32 PM.
What is the shortest day in Philadelphia?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 20 min: sunrise 7:18 AM, sunset 4:38 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Philadelphia?
8:33 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:35 PM on December 1.
What time zone is Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, 40.009° N, 75.133° 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.