Tucson Skips the November 1 Clock Change. Here's What Still Moves

Most of Arizona has refused daylight saving time since 1968, so on November 1 the rest of the country comes back to Tucson's clock — and changes who you share an hour with until March 14, 2027.

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, most American clocks go back an hour. Tucson's will not. Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time every day of the year under A.R.S. § 1-242, which says in plain words that the state "elects to reject" daylight saving time. Nothing here moves on November 1. Everyone else moves around it, and that is what changes your week.

Nov 1, 2026

Most of the U.S. falls back an hour; Tucson does not

UTC−7

Tucson's offset every day of the year

5:33 p.m.

Tucson sunset on November 1, per the U.S. Naval Observatory

308–117

U.S. House vote on July 14, 2026 to make daylight saving time permanent

Tucson vs. California, Denver and New York After November 1

From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, Tucson's clock matches California's, because Pacific Daylight Time and Arizona's standard time are both seven hours behind UTC. On November 1 that pairing ends. Until daylight saving time resumes on March 14, 2027, Tucson matches Denver and runs an hour ahead of Los Angeles. Chicago goes from two hours ahead of Tucson to one, and New York from three to two.

For anyone working remotely from a Tucson address, that is the change worth putting on the calendar. A 9 a.m. Eastern meeting starts at 6 a.m. here through Friday, October 30, and at 7 a.m. from Monday, November 2. A 9 a.m. Pacific call moves from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tucson time. Your own day did not change at all; the other side's clock did.

Why Arizona Opted Out in 1968

Arizona tried it once. The state, Tucson included, went on daylight saving time on April 30, 1967, for the first time since World War II, and the legislature rejected it in 1968. It was exempted from the change again during the 1973–74 energy crisis. The reasoning KNAU's Earth Notes recorded is the one still most often given: a later sunset in July is an extra hour of heat, and the state uses less energy for air conditioning without it. There was a smaller motive too. In midsummer, drive-in theaters could not start a film until 10 p.m., and one theater owner was the majority leader of the state Senate.

The longest day of 2026 shows what was at stake. On June 21, the Naval Observatory's tables put Tucson's sunset at 7:34 p.m. On daylight time the same sunset would have read 8:34 p.m., which adds no sunlight at all: it relabels the clock, not the sun. What it does change is how much of that late sun falls inside the hours a house is occupied. A workday ending at 5 p.m. leaves about two and a half hours of daylight after work under standard time; on daylight time the same quitting time comes an hour earlier by the sun, so about three and a half hours of it would be left — an extra hour of afternoon sun on west-facing walls, windows and patios with the house occupied and the air conditioning running.

What Fall Evenings Look Like When the Clock Holds Still

Because the clock never jumps, Tucson's evenings shorten gradually rather than all at once. Sunset was 5:54 p.m. on October 12. It is 5:34 p.m. on October 31 and 5:33 p.m. on November 1 — a one-minute change across the weekend most of the country loses an hour of evening light. By the winter solstice on December 21, the sun rises at 7:21 a.m. and sets at 5:23 p.m.

That matters if you are touring homes this month. The light on a 5:30 p.m. showing in late October is close to what that backyard gets through the winter, not a window that disappears in two weeks, so it is a fair time to judge how a patio, a ramada or a set of west windows actually works in the cool season.

Three Things to Check Before November 1

Set devices to Arizona, not Mountain. The time zone database behind most phones and computers lists Arizona as its own zone, America/Phoenix. Any device — a phone, thermostat, irrigation controller or camera — set to Mountain Time (America/Denver) instead will fall back an hour on November 1 and spring forward again in March, and a sprinkler or porch-light schedule will drift with it.

Convert every out-of-state deadline again after November 1. A rate-lock expiration, a wire cutoff or a remote signing appointment stated in Eastern time is two hours ahead of Tucson from that date, not three. One stated in Pacific time is now an hour behind instead of equal.

Know where the line runs when you drive north. The Navajo Nation, which covers much of northeastern Arizona, does observe daylight saving time, so its clocks run an hour ahead of Tucson's all summer. From November 1 to March 14 they match.

Would Permanent Daylight Time Change Tucson's Clocks?

Only if Arizona chose to. The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, H.R. 139, passed the U.S. House 308–117 on July 14, 2026, and was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee the next day, where it has not moved. As introduced, it would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide by advancing standard time an hour, and let a state that had already exempted itself — as Arizona has — choose either the advanced time or the one it keeps now. If Arizona stayed put, Tucson would share California's clock all year instead of from March to November.

Quick reference: Tucson stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC−7) on November 1, 2026. From then until March 14, 2027, Tucson matches Denver, runs one hour ahead of Los Angeles, one hour behind Chicago and two hours behind New York. Set connected devices to Arizona (America/Phoenix), not Mountain Time.

Sources

Arizona State Legislature — "Arizona Revised Statutes § 1-242" — azleg.gov/ars/1/00242.htm — accessed October 12, 2026.

U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department — "Sun and Moon Data for One Day" (Tucson, 32.22° N, 110.93° W, UTC−7; June 21, October 12, October 31, November 1 and December 21, 2026) — aa.usno.navy.mil/data/RS_OneDay — accessed October 12, 2026.

Pima County Public Library — "Daylight Saving Time—Tucson and Arizona" — library.pima.gov/content/daylight-saving-time-tucson-and-arizona/ — accessed October 12, 2026.

KNAU Arizona Public Radio — "Earth Notes: Daylight Savings Time" (September 15, 2009) — knau.org/earth-notes/2009-09-16/earth-notes-daylight-savings-time — accessed October 12, 2026.

ABC7 New York — "Daylight saving time 2026 ending: When to 'fall back'" (October 6, 2026) — abc7ny.com/story/daylight-saving-time-2026-ending-when-fall-back/19913454/ — accessed October 12, 2026.

WSLS 10 — "House Votes to Pass Sunshine Protection Act" (July 14, 2026) — wsls.com/news/local/2026/07/14/house-votes-to-pass-sunshine-protection-act/ — accessed October 12, 2026.

Congress.gov — "H.R.139 — Sunshine Protection Act of 2025: All Actions" — congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/139/all-actions — accessed October 12, 2026.

U.S. Government Publishing Office — "H.R. 139, Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (Introduced in House)" — govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr139ih/html/BILLS-119hr139ih.htm — accessed October 12, 2026.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority — "Time Zone Database" — iana.org/time-zones — accessed October 12, 2026.

All details current as of October 12, 2026; federal legislation can change, so confirm the status of H.R. 139 before relying on it. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate. Kyle Berglund and Tierra Antigua Realty fully support and comply with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

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