Rochester, NY · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Rochester, New York
Short answer
- Longest day
- 15 h 23 min
- Shortest day
- 8 h 59 min
Rochester daylight through 2026
Daylight in Rochester runs from 8 h 59 min on December 21 to 15 h 23 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 6 h 24 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 28th 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.
Rochester daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9 h 25 min | 7:26 AM to 7:42 AM | 4:46 PM to 5:21 PM |
| February | 10 h 33 min | 6:48 AM to 7:25 AM | 5:22 PM to 5:58 PM |
| March | 11 h 57 min | 6:36 AM to 7:34 AM | 5:59 PM to 7:35 PM |
| April | 13 h 26 min | 6:05 AM to 6:52 AM | 7:37 PM to 8:10 PM |
| May | 14 h 41 min | 5:34 AM to 6:03 AM | 8:12 PM to 8:42 PM |
| June | 15 h 20 min | 5:30 AM to 5:34 AM | 8:43 PM to 8:54 PM |
| July | 15 h 00 min | 5:34 AM to 5:59 AM | 8:33 PM to 8:54 PM |
| August | 13 h 53 min | 6:00 AM to 6:33 AM | 7:46 PM to 8:31 PM |
| September | 12 h 29 min | 6:34 AM to 7:06 AM | 6:53 PM to 7:45 PM |
| October | 11 h 01 min | 7:07 AM to 7:44 AM | 6:03 PM to 6:51 PM |
| November | 9 h 43 min | 6:45 AM to 7:21 AM | 4:36 PM to 5:02 PM |
| December | 9 h 03 min | 7:22 AM to 7:42 AM | 4:35 PM to 4:44 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 8 at 5:30 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 8:54 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:44 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. Rochester sits at 77.62° W, so the sun runs about 10 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:19 PM on January 15 and 1:16 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Albany, the state capital, gets 4 minutes less daylight than Rochester on June 21 and 4 minutes more 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester, NY | 43.17° N | 15 h 23 min | 8 h 59 min |
| Syracuse, NY | 43.04° N | 15 h 22 min | 9 h 00 min |
| Buffalo, NY | 42.89° N | 15 h 21 min | 9 h 01 min |
| Albany, NY | 42.67° N | 15 h 19 min | 9 h 03 min |
| Cleveland, OH | 41.48° N | 15 h 11 min | 9 h 10 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 |
| Allentown, PA | 40.59° N | 15 h 05 min | 9 h 16 min |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 40.44° N | 15 h 04 min | 9 h 17 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Rochester?
June 21, 2026, with 15 h 23 min of daylight: sunrise 5:30 AM, sunset 8:53 PM.
What is the shortest day in Rochester?
December 21, 2026, with 8 h 59 min: sunrise 7:39 AM, sunset 4:38 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Rochester?
8:54 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:35 PM on December 3.
What time zone is Rochester 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 Rochester, 43.170° N, 77.617° 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.