Right now, if you are looking at your phone in Tempe, Arizona, it says exactly what it said months ago—at least in terms of the rhythm. We don't do the "spring forward" thing here. As of Saturday, January 17, 2026, the time in Tempe is 2:13 PM.
Wait, you’re probably thinking: "Wait, is Arizona on Mountain Time or Pacific Time?"
Honestly, it depends on who you ask and what month it is. People get this wrong constantly. But here is the raw truth: Tempe is always on Mountain Standard Time (MST). We are the stubborn holdouts of the American Southwest. While almost every other state is busy losing an hour of sleep in March or gaining one in November, we just stay put.
What time is in Tempe AZ right now and why it feels like it changes
If you are trying to call someone in Tempe from New York or Los Angeles, the math is basically a moving target. Since Tempe stays at UTC-7 year-round, our relationship with your clock changes even if our clocks don't move an inch.
Here is how that looks in practice:
In the winter (like right now in January), Tempe is on the same time as Denver. We are two hours behind New York. If it’s 4:00 PM in Times Square, it’s 2:00 PM at Arizona State University. Easy, right?
But then March hits. The rest of the country "springs forward." Denver jumps ahead. New York jumps ahead. Tempe? We stay exactly where we are. Suddenly, we are no longer synced with Denver. Instead, we magically align with Los Angeles. For the entire summer, Tempe and California share the exact same time.
The heat is the real reason we don't change
You might wonder why Arizona decided to be the "weird" state. It wasn't just to be difficult. It was actually a survival tactic.
Back in the 1960s, Arizona actually tried Daylight Saving Time for one year. It was a disaster. Imagine it's 115°F in Tempe (which happens a lot). If you move the clocks forward, the sun stays out until 9:00 PM. That means the desert heat doesn't start dissipating until way later.
Parents hated it because kids couldn't go to sleep in a house that felt like an oven. Businesses hated it because the air conditioning costs went through the roof. Basically, nobody wanted an extra hour of blistering sunlight. So, in 1968, the state legislature basically said "no thanks" and opted out of the Uniform Time Act.
The one exception that trips everyone up
If you’re driving north out of Tempe toward the Grand Canyon, things get weird. The Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona actually does observe Daylight Saving Time. They want to stay synced with their tribal lands in New Mexico and Utah.
But wait—it gets better. The Hopi Reservation, which is entirely surrounded by the Navajo Nation, does not observe it. If you drive across that part of the state in the summer, your car's GPS clock will lose its mind, jumping back and forth every 30 miles.
Life in Tempe: How we handle the confusion
Living here means you’ve basically become a part-time time zone mathematician.
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- TV Schedules: If your favorite show airs at 8:00 PM Eastern, sometimes it’s on at 5:00 PM here, and sometimes it’s 6:00 PM. You just learn to check the app.
- Work Calls: This is the big one. If you have a 9:00 AM meeting with a team in London, that meeting might be at 2:00 AM or 1:00 AM depending on the season.
- The "Arizona Time" Setting: If you're setting up a new iPhone or a calendar invite, never select "Mountain Time." You have to specifically select "Phoenix" or "Arizona." If you don't, your calendar will shift your appointments by an hour twice a year, and you’ll show up to brunch an hour late like a tourist.
Actionable tips for staying on track
If you are visiting Tempe or doing business here, stop trying to memorize the offset. It's too much work.
- Check a "Static" Source: Use a site that specifically lists "Arizona Time" rather than just "Mountain Time."
- Trust the Phone: Your smartphone is smarter than you. As long as your location services are on, it will hit the local towers and show the correct Tempe time. Just don't manually override it.
- The California Rule: Just remember: "Winter = Denver, Summer = LA." If you can remember that, you're ahead of 90% of the population.
Tempe is a place that values its cool evenings and its predictable clocks. While the rest of the world is groggily adjusting to a lost hour of sleep every spring, we’re just sitting on a patio at Mill Avenue, enjoying the fact that our clocks haven't moved since 1967.