The United States uses six primary time zones: Eastern Time, Central Time, Mountain Time, Pacific Time, Alaska Time, and Hawaii-Aleutian Time.  

People living in New York City are pondering what they will enjoy for lunch by the time Californians climb out of bed to start their day, thanks to time zones and the rising and setting of the sun. Several populous cities operate on Eastern Time, the time zone used by the Easternmost region of the United States. In total, there are 30 cities with over 249,000 residents thriving and surviving in this time zone. The question is, how many cities in Eastern Time can you name before the clock runs out? It’s time to find out! 

How many populous Eastern Time zone cities were you able to guess before time was up? Some cities were immediately obvious, while others required more thought to recall. Regardless of your score, share this Sporcle quiz with your friends to see who can name the most cities using Eastern Time.  

WHY WE HAVE TIME ZONES

Time zones exist because people need a consistent and practical way to measure time across different places on Earth. Before they were introduced, every town or city kept its own local time based on the position of the Sun, meaning noon was simply when the Sun was highest in the sky for that specific location. Although this system lasted for centuries, it grew more difficult to follow as travel increased and society became more interconnected.

Time zones were created to keep up with the growth of transportation and communication during the 19th century. As railroads expanded, people could travel long distances much faster than before. However, because each place used its own local time, train schedules became a struggle to oversee. Imagine traveling, and each little locale is on its own time. Talk about chaos! 

In some cases, travelers could even arrive at a destination at an earlier local time than when they left, due to the differences in how time was measured. This lack of standardization led to confusion, missed connections, and even train collisions. It was clear that a unified system was needed to solve this problem. 

Enter: time zones.

Time zones divide the world into regions that all follow the same standard time,  making it easier to coordinate schedules over large distances. Instead of every location relying on its own solar time, regions adopted shared time standards, which improved efficiency and safety. 

Another reason time zones are important is that the Earth rotates, meaning different parts of the world experience daylight and darkness at different times. With time zones, societies can plan everyday tasks around sunlight and still stay connected to the schedules of other regions.

WHICH STATES BELONG TO WHICH TIME ZONES

Eastern Time: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia

Central Time: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas

Mountain Time: Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas

Pacific Time: California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska

Alaska and Hawaii each have their own time zones, and several other states span multiple time zones (depending on their location). Arizona matches Pacific Daylight Time for part of the year, but remains on Mountain Time year-round, since it doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time. With the exception of Hawaii and Arizona, all states use standard time from November to March and switch to Daylight Time from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Puerto Rico uses Atlantic Standard Time year-round.

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