Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota don't get the same attention as Texas or Florida when it comes to internal time zone splits — but all four are quietly divided between Central and Mountain time, and Nebraska's boundary is currently the subject of an active push to redraw it.
Nebraska: 19 counties, and a live debate
Nebraska's Mountain Time area covers the state's Panhandle plus several additional counties further east — around 19 counties in total, roughly 35% of the state's land area, though a much smaller share of its population. Cities like Scottsbluff, Chadron, Alliance, and Sidney run on Mountain Time; Omaha, Lincoln, and most of the state's population centers run on Central.
This boundary isn't settled history — it's an active political question. A recent Nebraska legislative resolution proposed shrinking the Mountain Time area down to just the 11 core Panhandle counties, moving eight additional counties (including Cherry, Grant, Hooker, and Chase) into Central Time for what supporters called greater consistency in commerce, transportation, and communication with the rest of the state.
Kansas: a county surrounded on three sides
Kansas keeps it simpler — just four counties (Sherman, Wallace, Greeley, and Hamilton), all along the Colorado border, sit in Mountain Time while the rest of the state is Central. The one genuinely odd detail: Cheyenne County, in the state's far northwest corner, borders both Colorado and Nebraska's Mountain Time area on three of its four sides, yet stays in Central Time itself — meaning you can cross into Mountain Time from three different directions out of Cheyenne County, but not simply by continuing straight through it.
North and South Dakota: split down different lines
North Dakota's split runs along its southwestern corner, roughly up to the Missouri River — the area west and south of that line uses Mountain Time, while the rest of the state, including Fargo and Bismarck, uses Central. South Dakota is divided in a broadly similar east-west fashion, with the western half of the state on Mountain Time and the eastern half, including Sioux Falls, on Central.
Why these four keep getting overlooked
Unlike Texas's El Paso or Florida's Panhandle, none of these four states' Mountain Time areas contain a single dominant city that most people have heard of — Scottsbluff, Chadron, and Sidney simply aren't as widely known outside their region as El Paso or Pensacola are. That makes the split easy to forget even for people who live nearby, and easy to get wrong entirely for anyone scheduling from out of state who assumes "Nebraska" or "Kansas" maps to one clock.
As with the rest of this list, the safest approach is checking the specific city rather than the state — the time zone converter resolves each of these by location, including the less-famous Mountain Time corners of all four states.
Frequently asked questions
How many Nebraska counties are on Mountain Time?
Around 19 counties in total — the Panhandle plus several counties further east. That is roughly 35% of Nebraska's land area, though a much smaller share of its population. Scottsbluff, Chadron, Alliance and Sidney run on Mountain Time; Omaha, Lincoln and most population centres run on Central.
Which Kansas counties are on Mountain Time?
Just four — Sherman, Wallace, Greeley and Hamilton — all sitting along the Colorado border. The rest of Kansas is Central. The odd one out is Cheyenne County in the far northwest corner: it borders Mountain Time areas on three of its four sides, yet stays on Central Time itself.
Are Fargo, Bismarck and Sioux Falls on Central or Mountain Time?
All three are Central. North Dakota's Mountain Time area is its southwestern corner, roughly bounded by the Missouri River, so Fargo and Bismarck stay Central. South Dakota splits broadly east–west, with the western half on Mountain and the eastern half, including Sioux Falls, on Central.
What's the time difference between the two halves of these states?
Exactly one hour. Central Time is UTC−6 in winter and UTC−5 in summer; Mountain Time is UTC−7 and UTC−6. Because both zones observe Daylight Saving Time on the same schedule, the one-hour gap between the eastern and western parts of each state never changes.