San Diego, CA · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in San Diego, California
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 19 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 59 min
San Diego daylight through 2026
Daylight in San Diego runs from 9 h 59 min on December 21 to 14 h 19 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 20 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 268th 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.
San Diego daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 17 min | 6:44 AM to 6:51 AM | 4:53 PM to 5:20 PM |
| February | 11 h 02 min | 6:17 AM to 6:43 AM | 5:21 PM to 5:45 PM |
| March | 12 h 00 min | 6:08 AM to 7:07 AM | 5:45 PM to 7:08 PM |
| April | 13 h 01 min | 6:02 AM to 6:36 AM | 7:08 PM to 7:29 PM |
| May | 13 h 52 min | 5:41 AM to 6:01 AM | 7:30 PM to 7:51 PM |
| June | 14 h 17 min | 5:39 AM to 5:43 AM | 7:51 PM to 8:00 PM |
| July | 14 h 04 min | 5:44 AM to 6:01 AM | 7:47 PM to 8:00 PM |
| August | 13 h 19 min | 6:02 AM to 6:22 AM | 7:14 PM to 7:46 PM |
| September | 12 h 21 min | 6:23 AM to 6:42 AM | 6:34 PM to 7:13 PM |
| October | 11 h 21 min | 6:42 AM to 7:05 AM | 5:58 PM to 6:32 PM |
| November | 10 h 28 min | 6:06 AM to 6:32 AM | 4:42 PM to 4:57 PM |
| December | 10 h 02 min | 6:33 AM to 6:50 AM | 4:41 PM to 4:52 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 9 at 5:39 AM and the latest sunset on June 22 at 8:00 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:07 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 8 hours behind UTC, the time of the 120° W meridian. San Diego sits at 117.14° W, so the sun runs about 11 minutes ahead of the zone clock. Solar noon is at 11:58 AM on January 15 and 12:54 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Sacramento, the state capital, gets 33 minutes more daylight than San Diego on June 21 and 31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menifee, CA | 33.69° N | 14 h 24 min | 9 h 55 min |
| Murrieta, CA | 33.57° N | 14 h 23 min | 9 h 56 min |
| Temecula, CA | 33.49° N | 14 h 23 min | 9 h 56 min |
| Oceanside, CA | 33.22° N | 14 h 21 min | 9 h 57 min |
| Escondido, CA | 33.13° N | 14 h 21 min | 9 h 58 min |
| Carlsbad, CA | 33.13° N | 14 h 21 min | 9 h 58 min |
| San Diego, CA | 32.82° N | 14 h 19 min | 9 h 59 min |
| El Cajon, CA | 32.80° N | 14 h 19 min | 9 h 59 min |
| Chula Vista, CA | 32.63° N | 14 h 18 min | 10 h 00 min |
| Yuma, AZ | 32.52° N | 14 h 17 min | 10 h 01 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in San Diego?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 19 min of daylight: sunrise 5:40 AM, sunset 7:59 PM.
What is the shortest day in San Diego?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 59 min: sunrise 6:47 AM, sunset 4:46 PM.
When is the latest sunset in San Diego?
8:00 PM on June 22, 2026. The earliest sunset is 4:41 PM on December 2.
What time zone is San Diego in?
America/Los_Angeles. Clocks change on March 8 (to PDT) and November 1 (to PST) in 2026.
Sources and data as of
Data as of: computed for 2026 at the Census internal point of San Diego, 32.815° N, 117.136° 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.