Story at a glance
- The longest day of the year, also known as the summer solstice, occurs when the Earth is tilted toward the sun at its most extreme angle.
- This year, cities will see the longest day on June 20, the first day of summer.
- On this date, major cities across the nation will see as much as 15 hours of sunlight, with one northern capital getting over 18 hours of sun.
DENVER (KDVR) — The longest day of the year, also known as the summer solstice, occurs when the Earth is tilted toward the sun at its most extreme angle. During this time, the U.S. will see the most daylight hours of the year.
The summer solstice usually happens towards the end of June. This year, cities will see the longest day on June 20, the first day of summer. On this date, major cities across the nation will see as much as 15 hours of sunlight, with one northern capital getting over 18 hours of sun.
Here’s a look at how much daylight major U.S. cities will get:
| City | Sunrise | Sunset | Length of day |
| Juneau, Alaska | 3:51 a.m. | 10:08 p.m. | 18 hours 17 minutes |
| Bismarck, North Dakota | 5:49 a.m. | 9:41 p.m. | 15 hours 52 minutes |
| Portland, Oregon | 5:22 a.m. | 9:03 p.m. | 15 hours 41 minutes |
| Burlington, Vermont | 5:08 a.m. | 8:41 p.m. | 15 hours 33 minutes |
| Green Bay, Wisconsin | 5:07 a.m. | 8:40 p.m. | 15 hours 33 minutes |
| Sioux Falls, South Dakota | 5:46 a.m. | 9:12 p.m. | 15 hours 26 minutes |
| Lansing, Michigan | 6 a.m. | 9:20 p.m. | 15 hours 20 minutes |
| Springfield, Massachusetts | 5:14 a.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 15 hours 16 minutes |
| Providence, Rhode Island | 5:11 a.m. | 8:24 p.m. | 15 hours 13 minutes |
| Hartford, Connecticut | 5:16 a.m. | 8:29 p.m. | 15 hours 13 minutes |
| Chicago, Illinois | 5:16 a.m. | 8:29 p.m. | 15 hours 13 minutes |
| Des Moines, Iowa | 5:41 a.m. | 8:52 p.m. | 15 hours 11 minutes |
| New York City, New York | 5:25 a.m. | 8:31 p.m. | 15 hours 6 minutes |
| Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 5:38 a.m. | 8:40 p.m. | 15 hours 2 minutes |
| Columbus, Ohio | 6:03 a.m. | 9:04 p.m. | 15 hours 1 minute |
| Denver, Colorado | 5:32 a.m. | 8:31 p.m. | 14 hours 59 minutes |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | 6:17 a.m. | 9:16 p.m. | 14 hours 59 minutes |
| Topeka, Kansas | 5:57 a.m. | 8:52 p.m. | 14 hours 55 minutes |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 5:53 a.m. | 8:48 p.m. | 14 hours 55 minutes |
| Washington, D.C. | 5:43 a.m. | 8:37 p.m. | 14 hours 54 minutes |
| Sacramento, California | 5:42 a.m. | 8:33 p.m. | 14 hours 51 minutes |
| Charleston, West Virginia | 6:03 a.m. | 8:54 p.m. | 14 hours 51 minutes |
| Billings, Montana | 5:24 a.m. | 9:08 p.m. | 14 hours 51 minutes |
| Lexington, Kentucky | 6:16 a.m. | 9:04 p.m. | 14 hours 48 minutes |
| Richmond, Virginia | 5:49 a.m. | 8:34 p.m. | 14 hours 45 minutes |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | 5:24 a.m. | 8:01 p.m. | 14 hours 37 minutes |
| Nashville, Tennessee | 5:30 a.m. | 8:07 p.m. | 14 hours 37 minutes |
| Raleigh, North Carolina | 5:59 a.m. | 8:34 p.m. | 14 hours 35 minutes |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 6:15 a.m. | 8:48 p.m. | 14 hours 33 minutes |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | 5:53 a.m. | 8:24 p.m. | 14 hours 31 minutes |
| Little Rock, Arkansas | 5:56 a.m. | 8:25 p.m. | 14 hours 29 minutes |
| Birmingham, Alabama | 5:38 a.m. | 8 p.m. | 14 hours 22 minutes |
| Charleston, South Carolina | 6:12 a.m. | 8:31 p.m. | 14 hours 19 minutes |
| Jackson, Mississippi | 5:54 a.m. | 8:11 p.m. | 14 hours 17 minutes |
| Savannah, Georgia | 6:19 a.m. | 8:34 p.m. | 14 hours 15 minutes |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 6:03 a.m. | 8:10 p.m. | 14 hours 7 minutes |
| Austin, Texas | 6:30 a.m. | 8:36 p.m. | 14 hours 6 minutes |
| Tampa, Florida | 6:34 a.m. | 8:29 p.m. | 13 hours 55 minutes |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | 5:50 a.m. | 7:16 p.m. | 13 hours 26 minutes |
These times were collected from NOAA’s Solar Calculator, which uses “apparent” sunrises and sunsets, or when light is visible in the atmosphere before (sunrise) or after (sunset) the sun actually crosses the horizon.
In any case, many cities will get to enjoy the longest “days” of the year around the summer solstice. Denver, for example, will see almost 15 hours of daylight, or about six more hours of daylight than the Mile High City’s “shortest day,” which falls on the winter solstice when the Earth is tilted away from the sun. On that day, other cities see even fewer hours of sunlight, with areas in Alaska getting as little as six.
Luckily, the summer is making up for the dark days of December, giving the most sunlight to cities that saw some of the least over the winter. Juneau, Alaska, for instance, is getting about 18 hours of sun by the end of June, compared to just over six hours during the winter solstice.
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