Earliest sunset of 2026 in Chicago
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Chicago is at 4:19 PM on Tuesday, December 8. The clock reads 4:19 PM at sunset every day from December 3 to December 13; December 8 is when it is earliest to the second.
Sunset in Chicago around the earliest day
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1 | 6:58 AM | 4:20 PM | 9 h 22 min | −18 s |
| Dec 2 | 6:59 AM | 4:20 PM | 9 h 20 min | −16 s |
| Dec 3 | 7:00 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 19 min | −13 s |
| Dec 4 | 7:01 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 18 min | −11 s |
| Dec 5 | 7:02 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 17 min | −9 s |
| Dec 6 | 7:03 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 16 min | −6 s |
| Dec 7 | 7:04 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 15 min | −4 s |
| Dec 8 | 7:05 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 14 min | −1 s |
| Dec 9 | 7:06 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 13 min | +1 s |
| Dec 10 | 7:07 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 12 min | +3 s |
| Dec 11 | 7:08 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 11 min | +6 s |
| Dec 12 | 7:08 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 11 min | +8 s |
| Dec 13 | 7:09 AM | 4:19 PM | 9 h 10 min | +11 s |
| Dec 14 | 7:10 AM | 4:20 PM | 9 h 10 min | +13 s |
| Dec 15 | 7:11 AM | 4:20 PM | 9 h 9 min | +15 s |
The earliest sunset comes before the winter solstice
The shortest day of 2026 in Chicago is December 21, with 9 h 8 min of daylight, but the earliest sunset is 13 days before it. Solar noon, the moment the sun is highest, is not fixed at the same clock time: because the Earth’s axis is tilted and its orbit is an ellipse, it drifts later by about half a minute a day in December. So sunset starts getting later in early December while sunrise is still getting later even faster, and the days keep shrinking until the solstice. The latest sunrise of the winter does not come until January 3, 2027, at 7:18 AM.
By December 31 the sun sets at 4:29 PM, 10 minutes later than on December 8. The earliest sunset falls in standard time, after the clocks went back on November 1; see when it starts getting dark earlier in Chicago for the whole autumn.
How these times are calculated
Times are for Chicago (41.88° N, 87.63° W), calculated with the NOAA solar-position algorithm for a flat horizon, in local clock time (America/Chicago), including daylight saving time where it applies. They are the same numbers as on the Chicago sunset and sunrise pages and are usually within a minute of published tables. Hills and buildings can hide the sun a few minutes early.