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 College Station
College Station's 8 PM sunsets run from about April 25 to August 21 — 119 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 215 days, from March 9 to October 9. Even in midwinter, sunset here never falls before 5 PM on the clock.
Days in College Station first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 16, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 26. Days with at least 14 hours of daylight run from June 1 to July 9.
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the ENE (62°) and sets in the WNW (298°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (117°) and sets in the WSW (243°). That is a 55° 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 College Station
At 30.59°N, College Station has a milder seasonal daylight swing than cities to the north. Across the year, the length of the day here varies by 3h 58m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, College Station receives 14h 8m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 10h 10m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 8m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.3 minutes a day in College Station, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over College Station
Where the Sun sits in the sky over College Station depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 30.59°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun climbs to 82.9° above the horizon in College Station — nearly straight overhead, leaving objects almost no shadow at solar noon. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 36.0°, 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 College Station 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 College Station
It is natural to assume College Station sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 30 at about 8:32 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 2 at roughly 5:24 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in College Station is around June 11 at 6:22 AM, and the latest sunrise around March 9 at 7:42 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 College Station
College Station, Texas changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, College Station springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 6:29 PM on Saturday to about 7:30 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:43 AM back to 7:42 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 6:37 PM to 5:36 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:40 AM to 6:41 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 College Station
For photographers in College Station, Texas, 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 College Station's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in College Station 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 32 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 35 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 36 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in College Station
Under clear skies, College Station, Texas receives about 5.8 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 3.1 in December up to 8.2 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 College Station sits at 30.6°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 31° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 16° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 46° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from College Station's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How College Station Compares
Daylight in College Station swings 3h 58m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so College Station has a 1h 19m gentler seasonal swing than a typical American city. By that measure College Station ranks 1582nd of 1,847 nationally, and 77th of the 131 Texas cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
College Station sits about 6.3° west of 90°W — the meridian Central Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 25 minutes after clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs behind the clock here, which is why evenings hold light later than the time zone would suggest. 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 College Station
College Station, Texas, has an estimated urban-area population of 219,936. Its primary county or equivalent is Brazos; its center is at 30.59°N, 96.30°W. Clocks here follow Central Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for College Station'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.