South Dakota Time Zone Map
Central Time in the east; the western half is Mountain.
Time zones in South Dakota
| Zone | IANA | Standard | Daylight | Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Time | America/Chicago | UTC−6 | UTC−5 | CST / CDT |
| Mountain Time | America/Denver | UTC−7 | UTC−6 | MST / MDT |
South Dakota is split roughly in half by the Missouri River: the eastern half (Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Brookings, and the capital, Pierre) is on Central Time, and the western half (Rapid City, Spearfish, and the Black Hills) is on Mountain Time. Pierre and Fort Pierre face each other across the river but sit in different zones.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is South Dakota in?
Central Time in the east and Mountain Time in the west. Sioux Falls and Pierre are Central; Rapid City is Mountain.
What time zone is Rapid City in?
Mountain Time (MST/MDT, UTC−7/−6), IANA zone America/Denver — one hour behind Sioux Falls.
Does South Dakota observe daylight saving?
Yes. Both halves move their clocks on the same dates, so the one-hour gap between them never changes.
Sources: zone boundaries from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s time zone regulations (49 CFR Part 71); offsets and daylight saving rules from the IANA time zone database. See Data Sources for how this site uses them.