Discover the 15 States in the Mountain Time Zone

The 50 states of the United States of America are spread over six time zones. These include Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaskan, and Hawaiian-Aleutian. The 48 continuous states span four different time zones, while Alaska and Hawaii each have an additional time zone. There are 15 states that include more than one time zone and 35 states that are entirely within one zone.

Mountain Time is the fourth-most western time zone of the United States. In the contiguous states, however, it’s the second time zone from the Pacific Ocean. There are fifteen states that fall within the Mountain zone, including six states whose entire geography exists within the zone. Nine states are split between Mountain Time and Pacific or Central Time.

Read on to discover the 15 states located in the Mountain Time Zone!

States Entirely In Mountain Time Zone

Colorado

Colorado is one of the states located entirely in the Mountain Time Zone. The state abides by Daylight Savings Time, so it transitions between Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07:00) and Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-06:00) throughout the year. As of 2021, Colorado has a population of 5.8 million residents, making it the second-most populous Mountain Time state in America.

Montana

Montana is another state located entirely within the Mountain Time Zone. Montana abides by daylight savings time, as well, so the state also transitions from Mountain Daylight Time to Mountain Standard Time throughout the year. Montana’s population is much smaller than some of the other states located in this time zone. In 2021, Montana had a population of 1.1 million residents.

New Mexico

The third state located entirely in the Mountain Time Zone is New Mexico. New Mexico is the third-most southern Mountain Time state, beaten out only by Arizona and Texas. New Mexico is another state that has remained on Daylight Savings Time, so the state transitions from MDT to MST as the year passes. New Mexico is a moderately populated state located in Mountain Time. In 2021, its population was 2.1 million.

Utah

Utah is another state that rests entirely within the Mountain Time Zone. Utah’s western border juts up against the beginning of the Pacific time zone. The state follows Daylight Savings Time, so during some portions of the year, Utah is on Mountain Daylight Time, and in other parts of the year, the state is on Mountain Standard. Utah is the third-most populous state located entirely within Mountain Time, with a 2021 population of 3.33 million residents.

Wyoming

Wyoming is the least populous state located fully within the Mountain Time Zone, with a 2021 population of only 578,000 residents. The state exists entirely in Mountain Time and, like most of its fellow Mountain Time states, abides by Daylight Savings. Interestingly enough, Wyoming is the only Mountain Time state that is surrounded by other Mountain Time states along its entire border. All other states have borders that touch other time zones (Pacific or Central).

Arizona

The state of Arizona is the final state that fully resides within Mountain Time. However, this state has a unique time zone because it mostly does not abide by Daylight Savings Time. That means most of Arizona is always on Mountain Standard Time, so for portions of the year, it shares its time with other Mountain Time states, but during Daylight Savings, it differs.

The only area of Arizona that does follow Daylight Savings is the Navajo Nation. That area, then, aligns with other Mountain Time states and has a differing time from the rest of Arizona for a portion of the year. Arizona is also the most populous state of the states that are entirely on Mountain Time. The population of Arizona is 7.2 million and growing yearly.

States Partially In Mountain Time Zone

Fifteen states touch more than one time zone in America, and nine of those states include Mountain Time in their mix. Some of these states have substantial areas dedicated to Mountain Time, while other states have just a small town or two on MT. Here are the nine states that exist partially in the Mountain Time Zone!

Idaho

Idaho is a state that includes two time zones that cover large areas of the state. Mountain Time covers the southern half of the state, while Pacific Time is used in the northern part of Idaho, often called the Idaho Panhandle. There’s a small portion of the Panhandle where the time zones are somewhat blended, but the division between northern and southern Idaho is clear.

Kansas

Another state that has some land in the Mountain Time Zone is Kansas. The vast majority of the state (101 out of the 105 counties in Kansas) fall within Central Time. However, there are four counties that subscribe to Mountain Time: Shirley, Wallace, Greeley, and Hamilton. These counties all share borders with Colorado.

Nebraska

Nebraska is another state that is divided by Central and Mountain Time. The eastern side of the state uses Central Time, while the western portion of Nebraska is on Mountain Time. More of the state abides by Central Time than Mountain Time, with about a 2/3:1/3 ratio.

Nevada

Of the states that include at least a bit of Mountain Time, Nevada is one of the states with the least area on the Mountain Time Zone. Most of Nevada is located on Pacific Time, but there’s one small exception: the city of West Windover. Located near Utah, West Windover is the only Nevada city that officially abides by Mountain Time. However, there are four communities that unofficially abide by Mountain Time. They border Idaho and while records formally say they follow Pacific Time, you can expect to use Mountain Time in Jackpot, Owyhee, Mountain City, and Jarbridge.

North Dakota

North Dakota’s southwest quadrant abides by Mountain Time. However, the remainder of North Dakota runs on Central Time. There are only eight counties in the state that follow Mountain Time, with the rest of North Dakota’s areas falling an hour ahead.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is another state with only a tiny portion dedicated to Mountain Time. While the majority of the state abides by Central Time, there is one county that unofficially follows Mountain Time. That county is Kenton, Oklahoma, which borders New Mexico and Colorado. The town uses Mountain Time because most of the visitors to the county are from one of its Mountain Time neighbors. However, there are no areas of the state that officially follow Mountain Time.

Oregon

Oregon is a moderately sized state that primarily follows Pacific Time. However, a small portion of the state’s eastern border abides by Mountain Time. Malheur County is the only county in Oregon that mostly uses Mountain Time. Its proximity to Idaho is justified as the reason. The remaining counties of Oregon all use Pacific Time.

South Dakota

South Dakota has a substantial portion of both time zones used in the state. While the slight majority of the state abides by Central Time, the western third of South Dakota uses Mountain Time. The state borders Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska, providing significant reasoning to fall partially within the Mountain Time Zone.

Texas

Texas is the final state with a sliver of Mountain Time Zone in its mix. This large state primarily follows the Central Time Zone, but a tiny portion of Texas on the western border abides by Mountain Time. This corner of Texas shares its border with New Mexico, which abides fully by Mountain Time.

What’s the Difference Between MST and MDT?

All of the states that abide by Daylight Savings Time transition from Mountain Standard Time to Mountain Daylight Time. Arizona is the exception, as it does not abide by Daylight Savings Time and therefore, is on Mountain Standard Time all year round. Mountain Daylight Time is UTC-06:00, while Mountain Standard Time is UTC -07.00.