Current local time in San José, Costa Rica
San José, the capital of Costa Rica, is on Central Standard Time (UTC−6) all year round. The clock below is live and uses your browser’s time zone database.
Key facts
- Time zone
- Central Standard TimeIANA: America/Costa_Rica
- UTC offset
- UTC−6same all year
- Next clock change
- None scheduledNo daylight saving here
- Sunrise · Sunset today
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- Country
- Costa RicaNorth America · capital city
- Population
- 335,000city proper, GeoNames
- Dialling code
- +506currency: Colon (CRC)
- Coordinates
- 9.93° N, 84.08° WNorthern Hemisphere
The sun in San José today
- First light (civil dawn)
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- Sunrise
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- Solar noon
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- Sunset
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- Last light (civil dusk)
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- Day length
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Times are for the city centre, calculated with the NOAA solar formulas (accurate to about a minute; hills and tall buildings can change what you see). How we calculate
Time difference from San José
Live · office hours 9:00–18:00
| City | Local time | vs San José | Office hours overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB London | --:-- | 7h ahead | 2h |
| US New York | --:-- | 2h ahead | 7h |
| US Los Angeles | --:-- | 1h behind | 8h |
| FR Paris | --:-- | 8h ahead | 1h |
| AE Dubai | --:-- | 10h ahead | None |
| IN New Delhi | --:-- | 11h 30m ahead | None |
| SG Singapore | --:-- | 14h ahead | None |
| CN Shanghai | --:-- | 14h ahead | None |
| JP Tokyo | --:-- | 15h ahead | None |
| KR Seoul | --:-- | 15h ahead | None |
| AU Sydney | --:-- | 16h ahead | 1h |
| BR São Paulo | --:-- | 3h ahead | 6h |
Need another city? Time difference tool →
Best time to call San José
Open in meeting planner →Each row is the same moment. Blue cells are working hours (9:00–18:00) in that city; solid blue means everyone is at work.
Daylight saving time in San José
San José does not use daylight saving time — clocks stay on UTC−6 all year. When other countries change their clocks, the time difference to San José shifts by an hour for them, not here.
Dates come from the IANA time zone database. Governments occasionally change the rules at short notice; your browser picks up updates automatically.
About time in San José
All of Costa Rica keeps the same standard time as San José (UTC−6).
Close to the equator, day length in San José barely changes through the year — between 11h 33m and 12h 42m.
Sunrise and sunset in San José, 2026
On the 1st of each month, local time
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:53 | 17:26 | 11h 33m |
| February | 05:58 | 17:41 | 11h 42m |
| March | 05:50 | 17:46 | 11h 56m |
| April | 05:33 | 17:46 | 12h 13m |
| May | 05:19 | 17:47 | 12h 29m |
| June | 05:14 | 17:54 | 12h 40m |
| July | 05:19 | 18:00 | 12h 42m |
| August | 05:25 | 17:59 | 12h 33m |
| September | 05:27 | 17:45 | 12h 18m |
| October | 05:24 | 17:27 | 12h 02m |
| November | 05:26 | 17:13 | 11h 46m |
| December | 05:38 | 17:13 | 11h 35m |
Longest day: around 21 June 2026, 12h 42m of daylight (sunrise 05:16, sunset 17:59). Shortest day: around 21 December 2026, 11h 33m.
Nearby cities
Straight-line distance and time difference
How long from San José?
All 8 ways to travel →Questions about time in San José
What time zone is San José in?
San José uses the America/Costa Rica time zone (Central Standard Time, CST), UTC−6.
Does San José observe daylight saving time?
No. San José stays on UTC−6 all year.
What is the time difference between San José and New York?
Right now New York is 2h ahead of San José. The gap can change by an hour for a few weeks a year, because New York uses daylight saving time and San José does not.
What is the time difference between San José and London?
London is 7h ahead of San José right now. Office hours overlap for about 2 hours a day.
When is sunrise and sunset in San José?
It depends on the season. Around 21 June 2026 the sun rises about 05:16 and sets about 17:59 (12h 42m of daylight); around 21 December 2026 it rises about 05:48 and sets about 17:20 (11h 33m).
Answers reflect the rules in force when this page was built; the live clock and next change above always use the current rules in your browser.