USA is a very large country in terms of both area and population. This is why moving from east to west the country has been divided into 4 time zones namely Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time, the Mountain Standard Time, and finally the Pacific Standard Time. Though the boundaries of the states in these time zones are such that there is no confusion with most states falling under a particular time zone, people remain confused between Central Time Zone and the Mountain Time Zone. The time difference between Central and Mountain time zones is one hour. Central Time (CT) is one hour ahead of the Mountain Time (MT). This article attempts to find out the differences between these two important time zones of the country.
Mountain Time Zone
Mountain Time Zone is observed in the Northern part of the country. The time in this zone is calculated by subtracting 7 hours from Greenwich Mean Time or the GMT (UTC-7). This time zone is observed in both the US and Canada where it is referred to as Mountain Time or MT. This time becomes Mountain Standard Time MST (UTC-7) during winters and Mountain Daylight Time MDT (UTC-6) during summers. Most of the states falling under this time zone observe this time alone though there are some states that have areas falling under Mountain Time Zone, as well as areas falling under Central Time Zone such as Dakota.
Mountain Time MT is 7 hours behind GMT.
MST = GMT/UTC-7 and
MDT = GMT/UTC-6
Central Time Zone
Central Time Zone is observed in the central region of the country if one moves towards east from the states falling under Mountain Time Zone. It is one hour ahead of the time in the Mountain Time Zone. The area observing Central Time Zone is not only a large one but also the most populous area of the country. This time zone is observed in 20 states of US in full or in part.
Central Time is 6 hours behind GMT.
CST = GMT/UTC-6 and
CDT = GMT/UTC-5
Central Time vs Mountain Time
• The Central Time is observed in the area that is to the east of the region that falls under Mountain Time Zone.
• Central Time Zone is observed in the most populous region of US. The regions that follow Central Time include Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Lousiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.
• Mountain Time Zone is observed in the Northern part of the country. The regions include Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
• There are states such as Dakota that fall under both Mountain Time and Central Time.
• Central Time Zone is behind Greenwich Mean Time by 6 hours.
• CST = GMT/UTC-6 and CDT = GMT/UTC-5
• Mountain Time Zone is 7 hours behind GMT.
• MST = GMT/UTC-7 and MDT = GMT/UTC-6
• Central Time Zone is ahead of the Mountain Time Zone by an hour.
• CST = MST+1; When MST is 12.00 PM, CST is 1.00 PM