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New Mexico, United States

New Mexico follows Mountain Time across the entire state. It uses Mountain Standard Time during standard time and Mountain Daylight Time when daylight saving time is observed.

Santa Fe, United States

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC−6 · America/Denver

Time and sun data for Santa Fe — the administrative centre of New Mexico

The sun in Santa Fe

Sunrise 06:40 Solar noon 13:04 Sunset 19:29 Daylight 12 h 50 min Night 11 h 10 min Civil twilight 06:14 – 19:55

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Current time in New Mexico, United States

New Mexico has one statewide time zone. Albuquerque, Santa Fe, the eastern plains, and communities near the Arizona border all use the same clock, so an intrastate trip never requires a time-zone adjustment.

The standard-time abbreviation is MST. During daylight saving time, New Mexico uses MDT and advances its clocks with most other participating parts of the United States. Colorado directly to the north also follows Mountain Time. Texas is more complicated for travelers because most of that state uses Central Time, while its far-western area uses Mountain Time. Arizona creates another potential source of confusion because most of Arizona does not observe daylight saving time.

Near the Arizona line, “same time zone” and “same time right now” are not always the same sentence.

Clocks in Albuquerque and other major cities

Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, is on Mountain Time. Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Roswell, Farmington, Clovis, and Hobbs follow the identical statewide schedule. Albuquerque provides a useful reference for the state’s current local time.

Las Cruces uses Mountain Time despite being close to Texas. Rio Rancho has no time difference from neighboring Albuquerque. Santa Fe, the state capital, changes clocks on the same schedule. Roswell and eastern New Mexico remain on Mountain Time rather than Central Time.

For calls within New Mexico, there is no need to convert between cities. For calls beyond the state, check the destination carefully. Daylight-saving policies can cause the difference between New Mexico and a nearby state to vary during the year.

Desert, mountain, and sunrise time

New Mexico’s broad east-to-west span means sunrise varies across the state. Eastern locations ordinarily reach astronomical sunrise before western ones by local clock time. Latitude and season matter as well, so longitude alone does not supply a complete answer.

Mountains and mesas strongly influence the visible horizon. The calculated sunrise refers to the sun’s geometric relationship with an idealized horizon, while a ridge may keep a valley shaded for longer. An observer on elevated ground can have a different experience from someone nearby in a canyon or basin.

Daylight changes across the seasons, and the clock shift between MST and MDT changes the displayed hour of sunrise and sunset. For planning an outing, choose the nearest community and the correct date. A sunrise value for Albuquerque should not be treated as exact for Santa Fe, Las Cruces, or a remote trailhead.

Questions and answers
Which time zone does New Mexico use?
New Mexico uses Mountain Time statewide, switching between MST and MDT.
Is New Mexico always on the same time as Arizona?
No. Most of Arizona does not change clocks, while New Mexico observes daylight saving time, so their clocks do not always match.
Do Albuquerque and Santa Fe have the same time?
Yes. Both cities follow the same Mountain Time schedule, although their sunrise times differ slightly.

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