What US states don’t observe Daylight Saving Time? This is why

For more than a century, daylight saving has been a practice in most of the United States. Twice a year, the majority of the country moves its clocks forward and backward in a bid to capitalize on the extended hours of sunlight during the summer months. According to its advocates, it helps save energy, and reduces crime and road accidents. Its detractors say it takes a toll on people’s health that outweighs the advantages.

Legislation has been introduced in states across the country, and at federal level through the Sunshine Protection Act, to end the practice of adjusting clocks twice a year. And there are some states that already don’t bother switching the biannual hour back and forth each year.

Which US states and territories don’t change their clocks?

Those living in states participating in Daylight Saving Time (DST) will set their clocks back an hour on Sunday, November 3. However, residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa will not participate.

Arizona experimented with the change beginning in 1918, but decided to opt out of DST permanently in 1968. The Grand Canyon State argued that its hot temperatures actually caused energy consumption to rise during DST, as people sought to keep living and working spaces cool. Although Arizona observes Standard Time, the Navajo Nation, a Native American territory in the northeast of the state that also crosses over into New Mexico and Utah, does make the twice-a-year time shift.

Hawaii is the only other state in the US that does not observe DST. Similarly, the US Pacific and Caribbean Sea territories also do not follow this practice. These regions are located close to the equator, which results in no significant difference in sunrise and sunset times throughout the year. Therefore, there are no noticeable benefits from changing the clocks an hour forward or backward.

States call for time change but not as expected

The semi-annual time change can be a nuisance for some, prompting demands to abolish Daylight Saving Time or to implement it permanently. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 30 states “have considered or are considering legislation or resolutions” concerning DST. In the last six years, the NCSL adds, 20 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to implement year-round DST, “if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation”.

Those states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, are: “Oklahoma (2024); Colorado and Kentucky (resolution) (2022); Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana (2021); Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio (resolution); South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming (2020); Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington (2019); Florida (2018)”.

California voters authorized a switch to year-long DST in 2018, but legislative action is pending. “Other states have commissioned studies on the topic, including Massachusetts (2017) and Maine (2021),” the NCSL explains.

Before states could change to full-time DST, they would require the approval of Congress. However, if a state decides to stick to Standard Time throughout the year, it won’t need to seek federal permission.

How does Daylight Saving Time work?

Most Americans adjust their clocks for Daylight Saving Time twice a year, on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November. The transition is always executed on a weekend at 2:00 a.m. to keep disruption to a minimum.

To help you remember how to adjust your clock, there is a popular saying: “Spring forward, fall back." In the spring, you need to set your clock forward by an hour, while in the fall, you need to set it back by an hour.