If you’ve ever tried to schedule a Zoom call with someone in Evansville while you’re sitting in an office in Indianapolis, you know the struggle. You think you’re on the same page. You’re not. One of you is an hour early, and the other is frantically finishing lunch. Honestly, figuring out what time is in indiana feels like a part-time job sometimes.
Indiana is weird. I say that with love, but it’s the truth. Most states just pick a time and stick with it, but we’ve spent decades arguing over clocks. While the rest of the country was "springing forward" and "falling back," Indiana spent a huge chunk of the late 20th century just... not doing that. We were the land that time forgot, or at least, the land that forgot to change the microwave clock.
The Two-Zone Split Is Real
Basically, Indiana is sliced up. It’s not one big monolith of Eastern Time. Most of the state—80 out of 92 counties—runs on Eastern Time. If you’re in Indy, Fort Wayne, or South Bend, you’re looking at the same clock as New York City.
But then you have the corners.
The northwest corner, basically the Chicago suburbs, stays on Central Time. We're talking about places like Gary, Hammond, and Michigan City. Then you’ve got the southwest corner around Evansville. These 12 counties are tied to the hip with Chicago and the South, so they stay an hour behind the rest of us.
Counties That March to a Different Drummer
If you are traveling through the state, you need to watch your GPS clock like a hawk. The following areas are in the Central Time Zone:
- The Northwest Hook: Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, and Starke.
- The Southwest Pocket: Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Perry, and Spencer.
Everything else? It’s Eastern. But even that "standard" is relatively new.
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The Great DST War of 2006
For a long time, Indiana was the holdout. From 1970 until 2006, most of the state stayed on Eastern Standard Time year-round. It was great if you hated changing clocks, but it was a nightmare for business. Imagine being a logistics manager in 2004. In the winter, you’re on the same time as New York. In the summer, you’re suddenly aligned with Chicago.
Then came Governor Mitch Daniels. He pushed for the state to finally join the rest of the modern world and observe Daylight Saving Time. It was a massive, heated debate. Farmers hated the idea of the sun rising later. Parents worried about kids standing at bus stops in the pitch black.
In the end, the law passed. Since April 2006, Indiana has officially "clocked in" with the rest of the U.S.
Why This Messes With Your Head
You’ve probably noticed that the sun stays up incredibly late in the summer if you’re in a place like Indianapolis or Lafayette. Because Indiana is so far west in the Eastern Time Zone, we get these "double daylight" evenings. In June, it might not get truly dark until 10:00 PM.
It’s great for a backyard BBQ. It’s terrible for trying to get a toddler to go to sleep.
There is actually a vocal group of people, often called the Central Time Coalition, who argue that the whole state should just move to Central Time. They argue it’s more natural for our actual geography. If you look at a map, Indiana is physically located more in line with the Central Zone than the Eastern one. But for now, the big business interests in Indianapolis want to stay synced with Wall Street, so Eastern Time remains the king.
Tips for Navigating Indiana Time
If you’re moving here or just passing through, here is how you survive the confusion:
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- Check the county line. If you’re driving from Indy to Chicago, you’ll "gain" an hour somewhere around the Jasper/Starke county area.
- Trust your phone, but verify. Modern smartphones are usually great at switching, but if you’re right on the border of a county line, your phone might ping a tower in the "wrong" zone.
- The "Slow" and "Fast" Time. You might still hear older locals talk about "fast time" (Daylight Saving) or "slow time" (Standard Time). It’s a bit of a linguistic relic from the decades of chaos.
- Meeting Etiquette. Always specify "Eastern" or "Central" when booking a meeting in Indiana. Don't just say "3:00 PM." That is a recipe for a no-show.
What’s Next for Indiana’s Clocks?
There is a lot of talk lately about "locking the clock." You’ve probably seen the headlines about the Sunshine Protection Act. In 2025 and early 2026, several bills were kicked around the Indiana Statehouse to either stay on Daylight Saving Time forever or switch to Standard Time permanently.
So far, nothing has stuck. The federal government actually doesn't allow states to stay on permanent Daylight Saving Time yet—they can only opt out of it (like Arizona).
For now, expect to keep doing the biannual dance. On the second Sunday in March, we'll lose an hour of sleep. On the first Sunday in November, we'll get it back. It’s annoying, it’s confusing, and it’s very Indiana.
If you are planning a trip or a move, the best thing you can do is pull up a county map. If you're in the 80% majority, you're on Eastern. If you're near the water in the north or the river in the south, keep your eye on the watch. You're likely an hour behind the rest of the Hoosiers.
To stay on track, double-check your destination's county against the list of 12 Central Time counties before you set your alarm. Setting a secondary clock on your phone for "Indianapolis" versus "Chicago" can also save you from showing up to a restaurant an hour before they open.