Rio Rancho, NM · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 32 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 47 min
Rio Rancho daylight through 2026
Daylight in Rio Rancho runs from 9 h 47 min on December 21 to 14 h 32 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 46 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 180th 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 08 min.
Rio Rancho daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 06 min | 7:06 AM to 7:16 AM | 5:05 PM to 5:34 PM |
| February | 10 h 56 min | 6:37 AM to 7:05 AM | 5:35 PM to 6:01 PM |
| March | 12 h 00 min | 6:28 AM to 7:26 AM | 6:02 PM to 7:27 PM |
| April | 13 h 06 min | 6:16 AM to 6:53 AM | 7:28 PM to 7:52 PM |
| May | 14 h 02 min | 5:53 AM to 6:15 AM | 7:52 PM to 8:15 PM |
| June | 14 h 30 min | 5:51 AM to 5:55 AM | 8:16 PM to 8:25 PM |
| July | 14 h 16 min | 5:55 AM to 6:15 AM | 8:10 PM to 8:25 PM |
| August | 13 h 26 min | 6:15 AM to 6:38 AM | 7:34 PM to 8:10 PM |
| September | 12 h 23 min | 6:39 AM to 7:00 AM | 6:51 PM to 7:33 PM |
| October | 11 h 16 min | 7:01 AM to 7:27 AM | 6:12 PM to 6:50 PM |
| November | 10 h 19 min | 6:28 AM to 6:56 AM | 4:54 PM to 5:11 PM |
| December | 9 h 49 min | 6:57 AM to 7:15 AM | 4:54 PM to 5:04 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 7 at 5:51 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 8:25 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:27 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 7 hours behind UTC, the time of the 105° W meridian. Rio Rancho sits at 106.70° W, so the sun runs about 7 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:16 PM on January 15 and 1:12 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Santa Fe, the state capital, gets 2 minutes more daylight than Rio Rancho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial, CO | 39.59° N | 14 h 58 min | 9 h 22 min |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 38.87° N | 14 h 54 min | 9 h 27 min |
| Pueblo, CO | 38.27° N | 14 h 50 min | 9 h 30 min |
| Rio Rancho, NM | 35.29° N | 14 h 32 min | 9 h 47 min |
| Amarillo, TX | 35.20° N | 14 h 32 min | 9 h 47 min |
| Albuquerque, NM | 35.10° N | 14 h 31 min | 9 h 48 min |
| Lubbock, TX | 33.56° N | 14 h 23 min | 9 h 56 min |
| Las Cruces, NM | 32.33° N | 14 h 16 min | 10 h 02 min |
| El Paso, TX | 31.85° N | 14 h 14 min | 10 h 04 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Rio Rancho?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 32 min of daylight: sunrise 5:52 AM, sunset 8:24 PM.
What is the shortest day in Rio Rancho?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 47 min: sunrise 7:11 AM, sunset 4:58 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Rio Rancho?
8:25 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:54 PM on November 28.
What time zone is Rio Rancho in?
America/Denver. Clocks change on March 8 (to MDT) and November 1 (to MST) in 2026.
Sources and data as of
Data as of: computed for 2026 at the Census internal point of Rio Rancho, 35.285° N, 106.699° 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.