Time in U.S. Virgin Islands — regions, cities and time zones
The U.S. Virgin Islands use Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, all year and never change their clocks. Charlotte Amalie on Saint Thomas therefore matches New York in summer and sits an hour ahead of it in winter.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Capital Charlotte Amalie · North America · ISO VI / VIR
Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
Friday, 4 September 2026
UTC−4 · America/St_Thomas
Time and sun data for Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
The sun in Charlotte Amalie
Sunrise 06:07 Solar noon 12:20 Sunset 18:33 Daylight 12 h 26 min Night 11 h 34 min Civil twilight 05:45 – 18:55
States and regions (3)
-
Saint Croix Island
01:10
UTC−4 · America/St_Thomas
157 cities · largest Saint Croix
-
Saint John Island
01:10
UTC−4 · America/St_Thomas
34 cities · largest Cruz Bay
-
Saint Thomas Island
01:10
UTC−4 · America/St_Thomas
52 cities · largest Charlotte Amalie
Current time in Charlotte Amalie
Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is a port town on Saint Thomas. It keeps the same time as Saint Croix and Saint John — the territory has a single zone with no internal variation, which is what you would expect from a group of islands within sight of one another.
The interesting part is the relationship with the mainland United States. Because the islands hold a fixed offset while the mainland moves twice a year, the difference to Eastern Time is not constant. It is worth knowing which half of the year you are in before assuming a meeting time.
Fixed offset, moving neighbours
The territory's position relative to the U.S. east coast changes with the seasons: During North American winter, Charlotte Amalie is one hour ahead of New York. During North American summer, the two read exactly the same time.
The offset here never moves: it is UTC−4 in January and UTC−4 in July. The database identifier is America/St_Thomas. This puts the islands in the same clock as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and much of the eastern Caribbean, which is often more useful for regional planning than comparing against the mainland at all.
No daylight saving, and why it suits the latitude
The territory does not observe daylight saving time. Near the tropics, day length barely varies across the year, so shifting the clock to chase evening light gains very little. The islands get roughly the same amount of daylight in December as in June, and moving an hour around would mostly create confusion for no benefit.
Daylight saving is a trick for places where summer evenings are long. Close to the equator, there is nothing to save.
The three main islands
The territory's population and business life are spread across three islands, all on the same clock: Saint Thomas — Charlotte Amalie, the cruise port and most government offices. Saint Croix — the largest island by area, with Christiansted and Frederiksted.
Saint John — the smallest of the three, much of it national park. Ferries and small aircraft link the islands, and their timetables are published in local time. Since there is no offset between them, a schedule printed on Saint Croix is directly usable on Saint Thomas without conversion — a small convenience that not every multi-island territory enjoys.
Practical conversions
Some rules of thumb when working with the islands: Add four hours to local time to get UTC, in any month. Against the UK, the gap is four hours in the British winter and five during British summer time.
Against Eastern Time, check the season: same hour in summer, one hour ahead in winter. In configuration files, store America/St_Thomas so the record names a place rather than a number. The seasonal swing against the mainland is the single most common source of mistakes here. A recurring weekly call set up in July will silently shift by an hour, from the islands' point of view, when the mainland changes in the autumn — the meeting has not moved, but the local hour has.
Questions and answers
- What is the time zone of the U.S. Virgin Islands?
- Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, recorded as America/St_Thomas. It applies to Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint John alike.
- Do the U.S. Virgin Islands change clocks for daylight saving?
- No. The offset stays the same all year, even though the mainland United States changes twice annually.
- Are the islands the same time as New York?
- Only in the North American summer. In winter, when New York is on standard time, the islands are one hour ahead.