Arizona doesn’t do daylight saving time mainly because extra evening sunlight would make its already extreme heat and energy use worse, so the state legally opted out and stays on standard time all year.

Quick Scoop: Why Arizona Skips Daylight Savings

1. The big reason: it’s too hot

Arizona tried daylight saving time in the 1960s and found it backfired.

Instead of saving energy, people had to run air conditioning longer into the hotter evening hours, which drove energy use and costs up.

  • In most states, DST saves energy by using more natural light in the evening for heating and lighting.
  • In desert Arizona, that “extra” hour of sun just meant more time of blazing heat and AC use.
  • Businesses, schools, and anyone with air conditioning were paying more, not less.

One local explanation summed it up: Arizona already has enough sun; they don’t need more daylight at the hottest time of day.

2. Lifestyle: late sunsets would be miserable

If Arizona observed daylight saving time, summer sunsets in places like Phoenix would push toward 9 p.m. instead of around 8 p.m. now.

For a state that often hits well over 100°F (around 38°C) in summer, that means:

  • Outdoor activities (like walks, kids playing, evening errands) would start even later at night.
  • Parents would be trying to convince kids to sleep when it’s still bright and hot outside.
  • Popular night activities (drive-ins, outdoor events, sports) would be pushed back uncomfortably late.

A 1960s Arizona editorial joked that by 9 p.m. under DST it was still “hot as blazes,” so residents really didn’t want that extra hour added to the evening.

3. The legal move: opting out in 1967

The federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 created a national system for daylight saving time but allowed states to opt out.

Arizona tried DST in 1967, saw the downsides, and then chose to stay on standard time permanently.

  • Since 1967, most of Arizona has stayed on Mountain Standard Time (MST) all year.
  • Federal law still allows states to remain on standard time if they want, so Arizona is fully within its rights.
  • A later energy-focused federal push in the 1970s again encouraged DST, but Arizona requested and received an exemption.

Today, most of Arizona never “springs forward” or “falls back,” which is why clocks there don’t change when much of the U.S. does.

4. Are there any exceptions inside Arizona?

Yes, there’s one important wrinkle: the Navajo Nation.

Most of Arizona ignores daylight saving time, but:

  • The Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, does follow DST to stay in sync across its territory.
  • The rest of the state (Phoenix, Tucson, most cities) stays on MST year-round.

So if you drive across parts of northeastern Arizona in summer, you can actually cross in and out of daylight saving time depending on whose land you’re on.

5. What people and businesses gain (and lose)

Not doing daylight saving time has trade-offs, and locals have mixed but mostly settled views.

Upsides Arizonans often point to:

  • Less AC time in the hottest evening hour, so lower power bills and more eco-friendly energy use.
  • Earlier sunsets in summer make evening activities a bit less scorching.
  • No clock-changing hassle twice a year, which avoids the usual confusion and sleep disruption.

Downsides some groups highlight:

  • Financial and tech businesses sometimes prefer DST so their hours line up better with markets in New York or California.
  • Some recreation industries (golf, outdoor entertainment) like longer light evenings DST would give.
  • There’s always a bit of confusion coordinating meetings, flights, and TV schedules with other states that do change clocks.

Despite these trade-offs, Arizona’s half-century of experience shows most residents still favor staying on standard time only.

6. “Why doesn’t Arizona do daylight savings” as a trending topic

Every March and November, when the rest of the U.S. is changing clocks, searches spike for things like “why doesn’t Arizona do daylight savings” and “the US states that don't change clocks.”

News outlets regularly rerun explainers that point to Arizona’s heat, energy use, and long-standing exemption, so the topic keeps resurfacing as a small seasonal trend.

On forums and Q&A sites, you’ll often see people from hot regions say they wish their state “would do what Arizona did” and skip DST, while people from cooler areas argue they enjoy the later summer sunsets.

TL;DR: Arizona doesn’t do daylight saving time because shifting an extra hour of daylight into the hot evening would spike AC use, raise energy costs, and push everyday life later into already uncomfortable heat, so the state legally opted out and has stayed on year-round standard time since the late 1960s.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.