New Jersey Among 1st States to See Early Sunsets This Fall

Garden State residents will notice a significant milestone as autumn approaches. Friday, Sept. 19 marks the first day all of New Jersey will experience sunset before 7 p.m., signaling the accelerating transition to shorter days.

According to U.S. Naval Observatory data, New Jersey ranks among the earliest states nationwide to reach this seasonal benchmark, with sunset occurring in Trenton at 6:58 p.m. on Friday. Twilight is expected to end at 7:26 p.m., effectively plunging the state into darkness by 7 p.m.

The timing varies dramatically across the country. While New Jersey enters the pre-7 p.m. sunset phase, other regions will maintain later sunsets for weeks longer:

• Utah: 7:26 p.m.

• Florida: 7:36 p.m.

• Indianapolis: 7:46 p.m.

Only a handful of northeastern states positioned north of New Jersey will have already crossed this threshold by September 19.

New Jersey's early transition to evening darkness results from two key factors: latitude and time zone positioning.

Latitude Effect: Locations closer to the North Pole experience more rapid daylight changes during seasonal transitions. Earth's axial tilt creates this phenomenon—the same tilt that produces extended summer daylight in northern regions also accelerates the shift to longer nights as autumn progresses.

The Time Zone Impact: Perhaps more surprisingly, New Jersey's position on the eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone accelerates its sunset schedule compared to states farther west within the same zone. Michigan, despite sitting north of New Jersey, won't see 7 p.m. sunsets until October 13 because it occupies the western portion of Eastern Time.

This time zone effect explains why western edges of any continental time zone consistently experience later sunsets than their eastern counterparts, regardless of latitude differences.

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