Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago all year. If you are both awake 7 am to 11 pm, a January weekday gives you 14 hours awake at the same time, and 4 hours of those are outside a 9-to-5 for both of you. Here are the good ones.
Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago that week. On a weekday you are both awake for 14 hours, and 4 hours of those are outside work for both of you.
Worked out for the week of 11 January 2027 (11 Jan – 17 Jan), in Chicago time, with each zone’s own daylight-saving rules for those dates. Los Angeles awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays; Chicago awake 7 am – 11 pm, working 9 am – 5 pm weekdays.
A weekday, in Chicago timeboth awake
Chicagoawake 7 am – 11 pm
Los Angelesawake 9 – 1 am Chicago time
7a10a1p4p7p10p1a4a7a
Best on a weekday
8 – 10 pm Chicago
6 – 8 pm Los Angeles · Chicago evening, Los Angeles early evening
Another weekday option
5 – 7 pm Chicago
3 – 5 pm Los Angeles · Chicago early evening, Los Angeles afternoon · during Los Angeles’s work hours
The long weekend call
Sat 7 – 10 pm Chicago
Sat 5 – 8 pm Los Angeles · Chicago evening, Los Angeles early evening
The week · Chicago time, 11 Jan – 17 Jan
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
9p
10p
Mon
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Tue
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Wed
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Thu
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Fri
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Sat
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Sun
5a
6a
7a
8a
9a
10a
11a
12p
1p
2p
3p
4p
5p
6p
7p
8p
Columns are Chicago hours; the small figure in each cell is the time in Los Angeles. both freeboth awake, one at workLos Angeles asleep
The Los Angeles–Chicago gap through 2027
Dates
Difference
1 January – 31 December
Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago
The week grid and call windows were worked out for 11 Jan to 17 Jan 2027 with the IANA time-zone rules for America/Los_Angeles (Los Angeles) and America/Chicago (Chicago). That week both places are on standard time. The table uses the same rules for every day of 2027. The finder above recalculates for the current week in your browser.
When it is … in Chicago
In Chicago
In Los Angeles
7 am
5 am
9 am
7 am
11 am
9 am
1 pm
11 am
3 pm
1 pm
5 pm
3 pm
7 pm
5 pm
9 pm
7 pm
Wednesday times. Send times as “your 8 pm” or “my 8 pm” so nobody has to guess whose clock you mean.
Stop doing the math every day
The Long Goodbye keeps your person’s local time and time of day on your home-screen widget and lock screen, so you can see whether it is morning coffee or midnight in Los Angeles before you call. A “thinking of you” tap lights up their widget, and a countdown keeps the next visit in view.
What is the time difference between Los Angeles and Chicago?
Los Angeles is 2 hours behind Chicago all through 2027, because both places change their clocks on the same dates.
What is the best time to call Los Angeles from Chicago?
In January, the easiest two hours on a weekday are 8 – 10 pm Chicago, which is 6 – 8 pm Los Angeles: Chicago evening, Los Angeles early evening. At the weekend, Sat 7 – 10 pm Chicago (Sat 5 – 8 pm Los Angeles) gives you a longer call. Change the awake and work hours in the finder on this page to fit your own days.
How many waking hours do Los Angeles and Chicago share?
If both of you are awake from 7 am to 11 pm, you share 14 hours on a January weekday, and 4 hours of them fall outside 9-to-5 working hours in both places.
Does daylight saving time change the call times?
No. Chicago changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November and Los Angeles changes its clocks on 14 March and 7 November, so the gap stays at 2 hours all through 2027.