Sunrise & Sunset in San Francisco

San Francisco sits at 37.77°N latitude on the western edge of the Pacific Time Zone, and both facts shape its light. Day length swings from 9h 32m at the December solstice to 14h 46m in June, and because the city sits so far west within its time zone, clock times run late: summer sunsets hold off until 8:36 PM, and even the earliest winter sunsets stay near 4:52 PM.

The famous summer fog rewrites the sun's schedule in practice. From June to August, cold ocean air often pours through the Golden Gate in the evening, hiding the sun long before its official setting time, while September and October bring the clearest, warmest sunsets of the year over the bay. In winter the geometry flips: the sun rises over the East Bay hills after 7 AM and sets into the Pacific before 5 PM, compressing the usable day into business hours.