Seasonal figures below use a 2025 reference year. Choose a date in the planner above for that day’s times, golden hour, twilight, and daylight milestones.
Seasonal Sun Milestones in San Diego
San Diego's 8 PM sunsets run from about June 19 to July 8 — 20 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 176 days, from March 19 to September 10. At the other end of the year, sunsets before 5 PM begin around November 2 and last until January 8.
Days in San Diego first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 16, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 25. Days with at least 14 hours of daylight run from May 22 to July 20. Days with less than 10 hours of daylight run from December 16 to December 26 (11 days).
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the ENE (61°) and sets in the WNW (299°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (118°) and sets in the WSW (242°). That is a 57° swing — worth knowing when choosing a west-facing viewpoint for a summer sunset or an east-facing window for winter morning light.
Dates use the 2025 reference year. Clock-time milestones near daylight-saving changes move with the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Daylight Through the Year in San Diego
At 32.83°N, San Diego has a milder seasonal daylight swing than cities to the north. Across the year, the length of the day here varies by 4h 20m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, San Diego receives 14h 19m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 9h 59m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 9m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.4 minutes a day in San Diego, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over San Diego
Where the Sun sits in the sky over San Diego depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 32.83°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun climbs to 80.6° above the horizon in San Diego — nearly straight overhead, leaving objects almost no shadow at solar noon. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 33.8°, sitting much lower in the southern sky and casting long shadows even at noon.
Those roughly 47 degrees separating the summer and winter midday Sun are exactly what give San Diego its seasons.
The live sun path at the top of this page shows the Sun's altitude and compass bearing for the current moment or any chosen date.
Earliest and Latest Sunrises and Sunsets in San Diego
It is natural to assume San Diego sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 29 at about 8:01 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 3 at roughly 4:42 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in San Diego is around June 11 at 5:40 AM, and the latest sunrise around November 1 at 7:07 AM. The equation of time and daylight saving pull these dates away from the solstices — explained in why the latest sunset isn't on the longest day.
How Daylight Saving Time Moves Sunrise and Sunset in San Diego
San Diego, California changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, San Diego springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 5:52 PM on Saturday to about 6:52 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:07 AM back to 7:06 AM, so mornings turn dark again just as they were brightening.
The reverse comes on the first Sunday in November, when clocks fall back: sunset drops from about 5:57 PM to 4:56 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:07 AM to 6:08 AM.
Only the clock label shifts on those Sundays; the times above are for a typical year. More in how daylight saving time changes sunrise and sunset.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour Photography in San Diego
For photographers in San Diego, California, the planner shows your selected date's morning and evening golden-hour and blue-hour windows. Choose Today, Tomorrow, or a date in the calendar; all clock times are calculated in San Diego's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in San Diego depends on the season, because it lasts as long as the Sun takes to climb from the horizon to 6° (or descend back). Around the equinoxes it runs about 33 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 36 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 38 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in San Diego
Under clear skies, San Diego, California receives about 5.7 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 2.8 in December up to 8.3 in June. One peak sun hour equals one hour of sunlight at full intensity (1 kW/m²), the standard unit for estimating solar panel output.
Because San Diego sits at 32.8°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 33° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 18° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 48° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from San Diego's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How San Diego Compares
Daylight in San Diego swings 4h 20m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so San Diego has a 56m gentler seasonal swing than a typical American city. By that measure San Diego ranks 1483rd of 1,847 nationally, and 297th of the 307 California cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
San Diego sits about 2.9° east of 120°W — the meridian Pacific Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 12 minutes before clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs ahead of the clock here. The equation of time then moves true solar noon up to about 16 minutes either side of that through the year.
About Sun Times in San Diego
San Diego, California, has an estimated urban-area population of 3,064,435. Its primary county or equivalent is San Diego; its center is at 32.83°N, 117.12°W. Clocks here follow Pacific Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for San Diego's city-center coordinates, so towns to the east see each event slightly earlier and towns to the west slightly later; the nearby-cities list above shows the typical gap.