Raleigh, NC · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Raleigh, North Carolina
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 36 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 44 min
Raleigh daylight through 2026
Daylight in Raleigh runs from 9 h 44 min on December 21 to 14 h 36 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 52 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 175th 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.
Raleigh daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 03 min | 7:15 AM to 7:25 AM | 5:11 PM to 5:40 PM |
| February | 10 h 54 min | 6:45 AM to 7:14 AM | 5:41 PM to 6:08 PM |
| March | 11 h 59 min | 6:36 AM to 7:35 AM | 6:09 PM to 7:35 PM |
| April | 13 h 07 min | 6:23 AM to 7:00 AM | 7:36 PM to 8:00 PM |
| May | 14 h 04 min | 5:59 AM to 6:22 AM | 8:01 PM to 8:24 PM |
| June | 14 h 33 min | 5:57 AM to 6:01 AM | 8:25 PM to 8:34 PM |
| July | 14 h 18 min | 6:02 AM to 6:21 AM | 8:19 PM to 8:34 PM |
| August | 13 h 28 min | 6:22 AM to 6:45 AM | 7:43 PM to 8:18 PM |
| September | 12 h 23 min | 6:46 AM to 7:08 AM | 6:59 PM to 7:41 PM |
| October | 11 h 16 min | 7:09 AM to 7:35 AM | 6:19 PM to 6:58 PM |
| November | 10 h 17 min | 6:36 AM to 7:05 AM | 5:01 PM to 5:18 PM |
| December | 9 h 47 min | 7:06 AM to 7:24 AM | 5:00 PM to 5:10 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 9 at 5:57 AM and the latest sunset on June 20 at 8:34 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:35 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. Raleigh sits at 78.64° W, so the sun runs about 15 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:24 PM on January 15 and 1:20 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. Day length depends on latitude, so the table lists the paired cities from north to south.
| City | Latitude | June 21 | December 21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk, VA | 36.70° N | 14 h 41 min | 9 h 39 min |
| Chesapeake, VA | 36.68° N | 14 h 40 min | 9 h 39 min |
| 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 |
| Raleigh, NC | 35.83° N | 14 h 36 min | 9 h 44 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 |
| 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 |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Raleigh?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 36 min of daylight: sunrise 5:58 AM, sunset 8:34 PM.
What is the shortest day in Raleigh?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 44 min: sunrise 7:20 AM, sunset 5:04 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Raleigh?
8:34 PM on June 20, 2026. The earliest sunset is 5:00 PM on December 1.
What time zone is Raleigh 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 Raleigh, 35.832° N, 78.641° 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.