Why is Panama City Beach on Central Time

Central Standard Time
When it is Central Standard Time, Panama City Beach, Florida is UTC-06:00 which means that it is -6 hours offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

The Central Standard Time in Panama City Beach, Florida (UTC-06:00) is shown in blue below:

As you can see, the difference between CST and CDT in Panama City Beach, Florida is one hour, because the daylight savings is adjusted by one hour.

Legislation is advancing keeping daylight saving time year round in Florida, but there's another part to the legislation that wants to leave central time, in the past.

Daylight Saving Time begins March 11th. Floridians enjoy an extra hour of sunlight in the evening when the clock changes.

Now, some Florida lawmakers are looking to make that change permanent.

If the current legislation is passed, Floridians could be seeing more daylight, but not without moving the western Panhandle from central time to eastern time.

Locals we spoke with said that while they don't mind changing to daylight saving time year-round, they aren't excited about changing time zones.

Kendra Wardlow a Panama City local said, "I'm not too excited about the news coming on later, television shows coming on later."

"Changing us into eastern time zone from central time zone is just kind of weird because it's always been central," said Cali Hendricks, another local.

Some local lawmakers agree.

Panama City Beach Mayor Mike Thomas said, "We're more acclimated to south Alabama and that area up in there than we are in the eastern part of the state."

But some residents believe the entire state could benefit by the switch.

Robert Wright, a former Bay County Commissioner added, "The majority of people we do business with are in the eastern time zone: Orlando, Miami, Tallahassee, Jacksonville."

Ultimately, the decision is up to state lawmakers. They're divided on the issue as well.

Senator George Gainer said, "I think we need one time zone. I don't know if we're ready for it now, there's a lot of preparation and a lot of things that revolve around our time system, around the clock and I think if those could be addressed, I'd be very much for it."

Representative Jay Trumbull added, "I think if there should be a proposal that would move everybody to a time zone, it should... everybody in the state of Florida should be on central time."

Whether eastern or central, it's a decision that affects everyone, and for lawmakers, the clock is ticking.

If lawmakers and the Governor agree on a change, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Congress would have the final say.

Panama City, Florida Local Time Details

Time ZoneAbbreviations

UTC - GMTOffset

Daylight SavingTime Usage

Daylight SavingStart Date

Panama City, Florida starts Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday March 12, 2023 at 2:00 AM local time.

Daylight SavingEnd Date

Panama City, Florida ends Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday November 5, 2023 at 2:00 AM local time.

Panama City Beach, Florida Local Time Details

Time ZoneAbbreviations

UTC - GMTOffset

Daylight SavingTime Usage

Daylight SavingStart Date

Panama City Beach, Florida starts Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday March 12, 2023 at 2:00 AM local time.

Daylight SavingEnd Date

Panama City Beach, Florida ends Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday November 5, 2023 at 2:00 AM local time.

Florida is a divided state when it comes to time. While most of Florida is in the Eastern Time Zone, nine of Florida’s 67 counties are in the Central Time Zone and one county is split.

The counties in the Central Time Zone are:

• Escambia County
• Santa Rosa County
• Okaloosa County
• Walton County
• Holmes County
• Washington County
• Bay County
• Jackson County (borders Eastern Time)
• Calhoun County (borders Eastern Time)
• Gulf County (borders Eastern Time) and is also split with 2 timezones. The northers side of Gulf County is in the Central Time Zone and the south along the Gulf Coast is in the Eastern Time Zone.

So how did Florida get divided on time?

First, let’s review how time zones were established. Time Zones were first introduced in 1883 by a civil engineer who came up with the idea to help train schedules. Then in 1918, time zones became law with the Standard Time Act that implemented standard time zones and daylight saving time in the U.S.

In Florida, the time line was established along the Apalachicola River, beginning at the Georgia border and following the fiver to the south. However, the time line does not go all the way to the coast as the river does. The shipping and railroad industries wanted to keep the coastal areas in the Eastern Time Zone and therefore, the line turns at the fork in the Apalachicola River in Apalachicola and encompasses Post St. Joe and all the communities and beach towns to the south.

Residents Divided by Time Zones

The time zone is an important issue that has residents divided as well. In 1982, the residents of Gulf County had the opportunity to change the whole county to Central Time, but 55 percent chose to keep it as it is.

In 2018, the governor of Florida proposed The Sunshine Protection Act that would permanently keep Florida on Daylight Saving Time. This bill was passed by the Florida Legislature but may never happen since it requires an act of Congress to change a time zone. A related bill proposed moving all of Florida to the Eastern Time Zone which was not passed. While there are many residents who would like all of Florida to be on the same time zone, the majority of residents in the Central Time Zone counties in Florida’s western panhandle are adapted to the Central Time Zone and want to keep it.

Interesting Communities Living with daily Time Zone differences

Gulf is the only county in Florida with two time zones. Cities close to the time zone in Gulf County include Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, Wewahitchka, and Apalachicola. Residents who drive across the Apalachicola River in Florida, enter into a different time zone. Schools and government offices are often working from different time zones.

Is Panama City Beach in Central time?

Why is the panhandle of Florida Central time?

Is Panama City in Central or Eastern Time Zone?

Does the time change in Panama City Beach?