Sunrise & sunset times in San Diego
Sunrise in San Diego today is at 06:43 and sunset is at 18:31, giving 11h 48m of daylight (times for Thursday, 1 October 2026, in San Diego's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 17:59 to 18:31. The moon is a waning gibbous at 66% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for San Diego, United States. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 05:41 and sets at 19:59 in San Diego (14h 18m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 06:46 and sets at 16:46 (10h 0m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:52 | 19:00 | 12h 8m |
| June solstice | 05:41 | 19:59 | 14h 18m |
| September equinox | 06:36 | 18:45 | 12h 8m |
| December solstice | 06:46 | 16:46 | 10h 0m |
Full sun timeline for San Diego
Civil dawn, when the sky starts to brighten before sunrise.
The moment the top edge of the sun appears on the horizon.
End of the soft, warm morning light photographers love.
The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the day.
Start of the warm, low evening light before sunset.
The moment the sun dips fully below the horizon.
Civil dusk, when the last usable daylight fades.
Golden hour and blue hour in San Diego
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:51 | 17:05 | 10h 14m |
| February | 06:31 | 17:34 | 11h 2m |
| March | 06:58 | 18:56 | 11h 58m |
| April | 06:19 | 19:18 | 12h 59m |
| May | 05:49 | 19:40 | 13h 51m |
| June | 05:40 | 19:58 | 14h 18m |
| July | 05:51 | 19:57 | 14h 6m |
| August | 06:12 | 19:33 | 13h 21m |
| September | 06:32 | 18:54 | 12h 23m |
| October | 06:52 | 18:15 | 11h 23m |
| November | 06:18 | 16:47 | 10h 29m |
| December | 06:43 | 16:44 | 10h 1m |
Sun and moon in San Diego
Landscape and street photographers who plan around the light rely on the daily sun and moon schedule for San Diego, United States. This page shows live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, morning and evening golden hour, blue hour, dawn and dusk, plus the current moon phase and the moonrise and moonset times for San Diego. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of San Diego, United States. San Diego sits at roughly 32.72 degrees north, in the northern hemisphere, so it sees a gentle seasonal swing, since day length stays fairly even through the year and the sun climbs high overhead in summer. Because the length of the day changes with the seasons, the exact sunrise and sunset in San Diego shift from week to week. Pick any date with the date picker to see how the light will fall on a specific day, which is handy for planning a shoot, an event, a wedding, a flight or simply the best moment to catch the last warm light of the evening. Golden hour, that soft warm window near sunrise and sunset, is the favourite of photographers in San Diego. Blue hour, the cooler stretch just before sunrise and just after sunset, is ideal for cityscapes and long exposures. Combined with the moon phase and moon times, this gives you a complete picture of natural light over San Diego, United States for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in San Diego today?
The sun sets in San Diego at 18:31 (just after midnight) today, Thursday, 1 October 2026, in San Diego's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 17:59, giving 33 minutes of low golden light before the sun reaches the horizon. Sunset is not the end of the light either. Last light, the moment usable daylight ends at civil dusk, follows 25 minutes later at 18:56, and the sky is properly dark at 19:53, 1h 22m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 18:31 in San Diego. That is 1 minute 19 seconds earlier than today. Over the coming week sunset moves 9 minutes 2 seconds earlier.
Planning around the light? See golden hour in San Diego.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in San Diego right now?
San Diego gets 11h 50m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 1 minute 59 seconds shorter. Over the next seven days San Diego loses 13 minutes 53 seconds of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In San Diego the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 2 minutes 2 seconds per day, and it slows almost to a stop at the solstices in June and December. The word solstice means exactly that: the sun standing still.
When are the earliest and latest sunrise and sunset in San Diego?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in San Diego falls on 3 December at 16:42, 18 days before the December solstice, and the latest on 29 June at 20:00.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 11 June at 05:40, latest on 8 March at 07:07, 77 days after the December solstice. The four dates in the table below do not line up with the solstices, and they are not supposed to. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical and its axis is tilted, so the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year. That offset, the equation of time, is what pushes the earliest sunset ahead of the shortest day and the latest sunrise behind it.
| Extreme | Date | Local time | Why then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest sunrise | 11 Jun 2026 | 05:40 | 10 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 8 Mar 2026 | 07:07 | 77 days after the December solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 3 Dec 2026 | 16:42 | 18 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunset | 29 Jun 2026 | 20:00 | 8 days after the June solstice |
These are wall-clock times, so San Diego's daylight saving change is part of the picture: an hour moved by the clocks counts the same as an hour moved by the Earth.
For the longest and shortest day themselves, see day length in San Diego.
How long does twilight last in San Diego?
First light in San Diego arrives 25 minutes before sunrise today, at 06:18. After sunset the light hangs on for another 25 minutes, until 18:56. That evening stretch is not the same all year in San Diego: it runs from 25 minutes at its shortest, in September, to 29 minutes at its longest, in June. The lower the angle at which the sun crosses the horizon, the longer twilight lasts, which is why dusk is a slow affair at high latitudes and abrupt near the equator.
Full three-band twilight tables: dawn in San Diego and dusk in San Diego.
How high does the sun get in San Diego?
At midday on the June solstice the sun stands 80.7 degrees above the horizon in San Diego. On the December solstice it climbs only 33.9 degrees. Even at that lowest point, a noon shadow in San Diego is only about 1.5 times the height of the object casting it.
Frequently asked questions about San Diego
What time is sunrise in San Diego today?
The sun rises in San Diego, United States at 06:43 on Thursday, 1 October 2026, and sets at 18:31. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of San Diego.
When is golden hour in San Diego?
San Diego has two golden hours each day. On Thursday, 1 October 2026 the morning window runs from 06:43 to 07:16, and the evening window from 17:59 to 18:31, all in local time. Pick another date above to plan a shoot down to the minute.
Why do sunrise and sunset change through the year in San Diego?
Because San Diego lies in the northern hemisphere, its days are longest around June and shortest around December. In San Diego the longer solstice day runs about 14h 18m and the shorter one about 10h 0m, as shown in the table above. As Earth orbits the Sun, the point on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets moves, which lengthens or shortens the day and shifts sunrise and sunset times.
Are the times for San Diego accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of San Diego and shown in its local time zone. They are accurate to about a minute for a clear, flat horizon. Hills, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment you actually see the Sun by a few minutes.
Does this page show the moon phase for San Diego?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for San Diego are all shown for the selected date, so you can plan around a full moon or a dark new moon sky.
How much daylight does San Diego gain or lose each day?
San Diego has 11h 50m of daylight on Thursday, 1 October 2026 and is losing daylight: 13 minutes 53 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 1 minute 59 seconds shorter than today. The daily change is at its largest near the March and September equinoxes and almost stops at the June and December solstices.
When is the earliest sunset in San Diego?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in San Diego is on 3 December at 16:42, 18 days before the December solstice. The earliest sunset and the shortest day are not the same date, because the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year, an effect called the equation of time.
How long does it stay light after sunset in San Diego?
About 25 minutes on Thursday, 1 October 2026. The sun sets at 18:31 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 18:56, with full astronomical darkness at 19:53. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from San Diego's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates 32.72, -117.16, time zone America/Los_Angeles. Accurate to about a minute for a flat, unobstructed horizon; terrain, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment the sun is actually visible by a few minutes. Full method on methodology.
Nearby cities
Sun and moon times for places close to San Diego. Sunrise and sunset shift as you move east, west, north or south.
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