Rochester, MN · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Rochester, Minnesota
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 29 min
- Shortest day
- 8 h 53 min
Rochester daylight through 2026
Daylight in Rochester runs from 8 h 53 min on December 21 to 15 h 29 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 6 h 36 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 23rd of 342 US cities of 100,000+, where 1st is the largest. Around the March equinox the city gets 12 h 10 min, and around the September equinox 12 h 10 min.
Rochester daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 20 min | 7:28 AM to 7:44 AM | 4:42 PM to 5:19 PM |
| February | 10 h 30 min | 6:48 AM to 7:27 AM | 5:20 PM to 5:57 PM |
| March | 11 h 57 min | 6:36 AM to 7:34 AM | 5:58 PM to 7:35 PM |
| April | 13 h 29 min | 6:02 AM to 6:51 AM | 7:37 PM to 8:12 PM |
| May | 14 h 46 min | 5:30 AM to 6:01 AM | 8:13 PM to 8:45 PM |
| June | 15 h 26 min | 5:26 AM to 5:30 AM | 8:46 PM to 8:57 PM |
| July | 15 h 05 min | 5:30 AM to 5:57 AM | 8:34 PM to 8:56 PM |
| August | 13 h 57 min | 5:58 AM to 6:32 AM | 7:47 PM to 8:33 PM |
| September | 12 h 29 min | 6:33 AM to 7:06 AM | 6:52 PM to 7:45 PM |
| October | 10 h 59 min | 7:07 AM to 7:45 AM | 6:01 PM to 6:50 PM |
| November | 9 h 39 min | 6:46 AM to 7:23 AM | 4:33 PM to 4:59 PM |
| December | 8 h 57 min | 7:24 AM to 7:44 AM | 4:31 PM to 4:41 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 10 at 5:26 AM and the latest sunset on June 26 at 8:57 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:45 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. Rochester sits at 92.48° W, so the sun runs about 10 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:19 PM on January 15 and 1:15 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Saint Paul, the state capital, gets 7 minutes more daylight than Rochester on June 21 and 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo, ND | 46.86° N | 15 h 53 min | 8 h 32 min |
| 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 |
| Rochester, MN | 44.01° N | 15 h 29 min | 8 h 53 min |
| Sioux Falls, SD | 43.54° N | 15 h 26 min | 8 h 56 min |
| Madison, WI | 43.09° N | 15 h 22 min | 9 h 00 min |
| Rockford, IL | 42.26° N | 15 h 16 min | 9 h 05 min |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | 41.96° N | 15 h 14 min | 9 h 07 min |
| Des Moines, IA | 41.57° N | 15 h 12 min | 9 h 10 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 Rochester?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 29 min of daylight: sunrise 5:27 AM, sunset 8:56 PM.
What is the shortest day in Rochester?
December 21, 2026, with 8 h 53 min: sunrise 7:41 AM, sunset 4:34 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Rochester?
8:57 PM on June 26, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:31 PM on December 6.
What time zone is Rochester 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 Rochester, 44.014° N, 92.479° 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.