Pacific Time (PT)
Los Angeles operates on Pacific Time (PT). Los Angeles observes Daylight Saving Time, springing forward one hour in March and falling back in November. During DST, the abbreviation changes to reflect the shift.
Time Zone: Pacific Time (PT) — Standard Offset: UTC-8 (PST) — DST Offset: UTC-7 (PDT)
Country: United States
This city observes Daylight Saving Time, so the UTC offset changes twice per year. Always verify the current offset when scheduling across time zones.
Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, and Pacific Time drives the entertainment industry's schedule. Studios, agencies, and production companies operate on PT, and the annual awards calendar — from the Oscars to the Emmys — is scheduled around Pacific Time. Late-night talk shows tape in the afternoon PT for East Coast primetime. If you're in the entertainment, gaming, or content creation industry, Pacific Time is the time zone you'll coordinate with most.
Silicon Beach in Santa Monica and Venice, along with the broader Southern California tech scene, has made LA a major tech hub alongside San Francisco. Companies like Snapchat (headquartered in Santa Monica), SpaceX (Hawthorne), and Riot Games (West LA) operate on PT. The 3-hour difference with New York means West Coast tech workers often start their day dealing with East Coast emails that arrived hours earlier — a dynamic that shapes the famous '6 AM gym, 7 AM email' culture of LA's tech workers.
Los Angeles observes DST from the second Sunday in March through the first Sunday in November. During standard time, LA is UTC-8 (PST). During DST, it shifts to UTC-7 (PDT). The 3-hour gap with the East Coast remains constant year-round since both zones shift simultaneously. However, the gap with non-DST locations like Arizona and Hawaii changes — LA matches Arizona's time during summer but falls an hour behind in winter.
Pacific Time is the latest major business time zone in the continental US, which creates challenges for international coordination. When it's 9 AM in LA, it's already 5 PM in London and 1 AM the next day in Tokyo. The best window for LA-to-London calls is 7 AM to 9 AM PT (3 PM to 5 PM GMT). For LA-to-Asia meetings, late afternoon works — 4 PM PT catches Tokyo at 9 AM the next morning. LA-based remote workers coordinating with European teams often adopt earlier schedules to maximize overlap.