The Only 2 States That Don’t Observe Daylight Saving Time
Updated: Nov. 21, 2023
While most U.S. states spring forward and fall back, two don't. Here's why.
On Nov. 5, the clocks will fall back one hour at 2 a.m., marking the end of daylight saving time. On the plus side, this means you’ll be getting an extra hour of sleep, while the downside is you’ll lose an hour of daylight in the afternoon, just around the time many of us are getting home from school or work.
The practice, observed since 1918 and also known as daylight time, sparks controversy as some wonder if the clock-resetting process should still be in effect. In fact, there are two U.S. states that don’t do daylight savings, which you’ll learn more about in detail below.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.
What states don’t do daylight saving time?
Two states don’t do daylight saving time: Hawaii and Arizona. The United States officially adopted daylight saving time (yes, saving, not “savings”) as part of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Before that, it was launched, repealed and resurrected during World War I and World War II, and allowed states to come up with their own versions of the practice. In fact, Iowa once had 23 different pairs of start and end dates throughout the state. This new law brought much-needed order to the country’s clocks, but it didn’t require all states to comply. And so Hawaii and Arizona eventually opted out, making them the only two states that don’t do daylight saving time.
Why did Hawaii opt out of daylight saving time?
Hawaii abandoned the law in 1967 because, well, it just didn’t make sense. One of the benefits of daylight saving time is that there’s more daylight in the evening. But in Hawaii, the sun rises and sets at about the same time every day, TIME reports.
Why did Arizona opt out of daylight saving time?
Arizona followed suit in 1968 because it also gets a lot of daylight year-round. Not setting clocks forward also ensures that there are lower temperatures during waking and bedtime hours. However, the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona does observe daylight saving time so it can have a uniform time with parts of Navajo territory in Utah and New Mexico. A few U.S. territories also refrain from observing daylight saving time: the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Marina Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam.
Are we getting rid of daylight saving time in 2023?
Some states have drafted bills to adopt daylight saving time year-round or end the practice altogether—and in early March 2023, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which, if signed into law, would make daylight saving time permanent in the U.S. That would mean no more swapping those clocks back-and-forth twice a year. The bill was passed in the Senate in 2022, but the House didn’t vote on it.
So for now, most of the country still has to change its clocks twice a year. And yes, you have every right to luxuriate in the extra hour of sleep in November and be annoyed when March rolls around, but getting your body used to the time change doesn’t have to be a struggle.
Sources:
- TIME: “The Reason Some States Don’t Observe Daylight Saving Time”
- Press release from Sen. Marco Rubio: “Rubio Reintroduces Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent”
