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 Milwaukee
Milwaukee's 8 PM sunsets run from about May 7 to August 11 — 97 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 184 days, from March 16 to September 15. At the other end of the year, sunsets before 4:30 PM begin around November 14 and last until January 2.
Days in Milwaukee first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 17, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 25. Days with at least 15 hours of daylight run from May 26 to July 16. Days with less than 9 hours of daylight run from December 19 to December 23 (5 days).
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the NE (56°) and sets in the NW (304°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (122°) and sets in the WSW (238°). That is a 66° 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 Milwaukee
Milwaukee sits at 43.06°N, a mid-latitude position that gives it a balanced but noticeable seasonal rhythm. The difference between its longest and shortest day is 6h 22m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, Milwaukee receives 15h 22m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 9h 0m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 10m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.8 minutes a day in Milwaukee, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over Milwaukee
Where the Sun sits in the sky over Milwaukee depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 43.06°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun reaches 70.4° above the horizon in Milwaukee, its highest point of the year. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 23.5°, 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 Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee
It is natural to assume Milwaukee sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 26 at about 8:35 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 8 at roughly 4:17 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in Milwaukee is around June 14 at 5:12 AM, and the latest sunrise around November 1 at 7:27 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 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, Milwaukee springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 5:50 PM on Saturday to about 6:51 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:16 AM back to 7:14 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 5:43 PM to 4:42 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:27 AM to 6:28 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 Milwaukee
For photographers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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 Milwaukee's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in Milwaukee 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 37 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 43 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 46 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in Milwaukee
Under clear skies, Milwaukee, Wisconsin receives about 4.9 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 1.5 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 Milwaukee sits at 43.1°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 43° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 28° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 58° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from Milwaukee's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How Milwaukee Compares
Daylight in Milwaukee swings 6h 22m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so the seasons move the clock 1h 6m further in Milwaukee than in a typical American city. By that measure Milwaukee ranks 192nd of 1,847 nationally, and 19th of the 35 Wisconsin cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
Milwaukee sits about 2.0° east of 90°W — the meridian Central Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 8 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 Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has an estimated urban-area population of 1,291,752. Its primary county or equivalent is Milwaukee; its center is at 43.06°N, 87.97°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 Milwaukee'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.