Look up the exact time darkness falls in Chicago, IL for any date of the year. Sunset times, civil dusk, full twilight schedule, and daylight changes.
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Today — Wednesday, November 4, 2026
It gets dark at 05:10 PM in Chicago
Sunrise
06:26 AM
Sunset
04:40 PM
Gets Dark
05:10 PM
Day Length
10h 14m
Chicago is losing 2m 25s of daylight per day
Darkness arrives earliest on December 7 at 4:50 PM and latest on June 26 at 9:04 PM, a swing of 4 h 13 min across the year.
The longest day brings 15 h 14 min of daylight and the shortest just 9 h 8 min. The earliest dusk comes about 14 days away from the shortest day, because Earth's oval orbit shifts solar noon through the year.
After sunset, twilight lasts about 28 min at the March equinox and stretches to 34 min in midsummer. Near the equator it is only about 21 min year-round.
In Chicago, on 29 evenings it stays light until after 9 pm, while on 113 days it is dark before 6 pm.
Chicago sits close to the middle of its time zone, so the sun is highest within 11 min of noon on standard time.
Chicago lies 4,657 km (2,894 miles) north of the equator at 41.88°N.
This page shows exactly when it gets dark in Chicago, IL, United States for any day of the year. The interactive tool above lets you pick any date to see the precise sunset time, civil dusk (when true darkness begins), and the full twilight schedule including nautical and astronomical dawn and dusk.
Chicago is located at latitude 41.88° and longitude -87.63°. The time darkness falls changes throughout the year based on Earth's axial tilt — earlier in winter, later in summer. Use the date picker above to check any date.
Whether you're planning trick-or-treating for Halloween, a fireworks display, an outdoor wedding, or an evening event in Chicago, knowing the exact time darkness falls is essential. This tool calculates civil dusk — when the sun drops 6 degrees below the horizon — for any date at Chicago's exact coordinates.
The site also shows the daily daylight delta — how much daylight Chicago is gaining or losing each day — and a year-long daylight curve showing how day length rises and falls across all 365 days.