Wilmington, NC · 2026
Sunrise and sunset in Wilmington, North Carolina
Short answer
- Longest day
- 14 h 26 min
- Shortest day
- 9 h 52 min
Wilmington daylight through 2026
Daylight in Wilmington runs from 9 h 52 min on December 21 to 14 h 26 min on June 21, a seasonal swing of 4 h 34 min between June 21 and December 21. That swing ranks 198th 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.
Wilmington daylight by month
| Month | Average | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 h 11 min | 7:09 AM to 7:18 AM | 5:12 PM to 5:40 PM |
| February | 10 h 58 min | 6:41 AM to 7:08 AM | 5:41 PM to 6:07 PM |
| March | 12 h 00 min | 6:32 AM to 7:31 AM | 6:07 PM to 7:31 PM |
| April | 13 h 04 min | 6:23 AM to 6:58 AM | 7:32 PM to 7:55 PM |
| May | 13 h 57 min | 6:01 AM to 6:21 AM | 7:55 PM to 8:17 PM |
| June | 14 h 24 min | 5:59 AM to 6:03 AM | 8:18 PM to 8:27 PM |
| July | 14 h 10 min | 6:03 AM to 6:21 AM | 8:13 PM to 8:27 PM |
| August | 13 h 23 min | 6:22 AM to 6:44 AM | 7:38 PM to 8:12 PM |
| September | 12 h 22 min | 6:45 AM to 7:05 AM | 6:57 PM to 7:37 PM |
| October | 11 h 19 min | 7:06 AM to 7:30 AM | 6:19 PM to 6:55 PM |
| November | 10 h 23 min | 6:31 AM to 6:58 AM | 5:01 PM to 5:18 PM |
| December | 9 h 55 min | 6:59 AM to 7:17 AM | 5:01 PM to 5:12 PM |
Earliest sunrise, latest sunset and the clock
The earliest sunrise comes on June 5 at 5:59 AM and the latest sunset on June 23 at 8:27 PM. The latest sunrise is 7:31 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. Wilmington sits at 77.89° W, so the sun runs about 12 minutes behind the zone clock. Solar noon is at 12:21 PM on January 15 and 1:17 PM on July 15.
Compared with nearby cities
Raleigh, the state capital, gets 9 minutes more daylight than Wilmington on June 21 and 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| North Charleston, SC | 32.92° N | 14 h 20 min | 9 h 59 min |
| Charleston, SC | 32.83° N | 14 h 19 min | 9 h 59 min |
Questions people ask
What is the longest day of the year in Wilmington?
June 21, 2026, with 14 h 26 min of daylight: sunrise 6:00 AM, sunset 8:26 PM.
What is the shortest day in Wilmington?
December 21, 2026, with 9 h 52 min: sunrise 7:13 AM, sunset 5:05 PM.
When is the latest sunset in Wilmington?
8:27 PM on June 23, 2026. The earliest sunset is 5:01 PM on November 30.
What time zone is Wilmington 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 Wilmington, 34.209° N, 77.886° 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.