What is the time difference between the East Coast and the West Coast?

Question

Is it 4 hours? I always thought it was 3, but my cell phone and other websites say it's 4 hours. I was having this conversation with my parents and they thought it was 3.

Answer 1

There are 4 time zones but only 3 hours difference in time in the USA. Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones. If it is 5.00am on  the East coast it is 4.00 am in the Central, 3.00 am mountain, and 2.00am Pacific time zone.

Think of it as not counting the time zone you start in.

Answer 2

There are 4 time zones in the US--Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. The area they cover changes with each 15 degrees of longitude in the "Lower 48" or contiguous USA. Adding Alaska, makes it 5, and adding Hawaii makes it 6 zones.

There should be a page in your local telephone directory with a "Time Zone Map" right after the list of the country's area codes at the front of the book. This map shows what states are in what zone, and shows a time example (if it is 1:00 in Hawaii, it is 2:00 in Alaska, 3:00 in California up to 7:00 on the East Coast.)

     You GAIN 1 hour for each 15 degrees longitude EAST you go (up to gaining a full day of 24 hours), and LOSE the hour going WEST. For instance, I live in the Central Time Zone, and it is now 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night. My friend in Australia is 16 hours AHEAD of me, so it is Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. where she lives in New South Wales.

Answer 3

There is three hours distance between the west and east coast. If it is 12 on the east coast than it'll be 3 hours different than on the west coast. What your phone is probably saying is that there are four different times in  the U.S.

Answer 4

4 hours...time zones: Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern

Answer 5

3, if you are referring to the West Coast as California, Oregon, and Washington (not Alaska).