Richmond, Virginia Sunset Time Today

Richmond sunset and sunrise times, golden hour, blue hour, and how your daylight is changing

Richmond, VA · Sunset & sunrise today

Sunset today at 8:17 PM · Sunrise 6:15 AM

Sunset is at 8:17 PM — 14h 2m of daylight, −1m shorter than yesterday.

−1m shorter than yesterday

Tomorrow in Richmond · Mon, Aug 3

Sunrise tomorrow: 6:15 AM · Sunset tomorrow: 8:16 PM

Sunrise the same time as today · sunset 1 minute earlier than today

In Richmond, the sun rises at 6:15 AM tomorrow and sets at 8:16 PM.

Golden hour & blue hour today

Morning

Golden hour6:15 AM7:15 AM

Blue hour5:45 AM6:15 AM

Evening

Golden hour7:17 PM8:17 PM

Blue hour8:17 PM8:47 PM

Golden hour is the soft, warm light when the sun sits low — the hour after sunrise and before sunset. Blue hour is the cooler twilight that brackets it. Both windows are rules of thumb; they run longer at high latitudes and shorter near the equator.

Sunrise time in Richmond

The sun rises in Richmond at 6:15 AM today and at 6:15 AM tomorrow (the same time as today).

First light comes before the sun itself: civil twilight — the blue-hour glow already bright enough to see by — begins around 5:45 AM, roughly half an hour ahead of sunrise.

For photographers, the morning golden hour — the warm, low-angle light just after the sun clears the horizon — runs from about 6:15 AM to 7:15 AM.

Sunrise & sunset this week

DaySunriseSunsetDaylight
Today6:15 AM8:17 PM14h 2m
Mon, Aug 36:15 AM8:16 PM14h 1m
Tue, Aug 46:16 AM8:15 PM13h 59m
Wed, Aug 56:17 AM8:14 PM13h 57m
Thu, Aug 66:18 AM8:13 PM13h 55m
Fri, Aug 76:19 AM8:11 PM13h 52m
Sat, Aug 86:20 AM8:10 PM13h 50m

Richmond daylight month by month

Sunrise, sunset, and total daylight for the first of each month in 2026, computed from Richmond’s coordinates in local time. The line traces how the day stretches toward summer and contracts toward winter.

MonthSunriseSunsetDaylight
January7:25 AM5:03 PM9h 37m
February7:14 AM5:34 PM10h 20m
March6:42 AM6:04 PM11h 22m
April6:56 AM7:33 PM12h 37m
May6:15 AM8:00 PM13h 45m
June5:51 AM8:26 PM14h 35m
July5:53 AM8:36 PM14h 43m
August6:15 AM8:19 PM14h 5m
September6:41 AM7:41 PM13h 0m
October7:06 AM6:55 PM11h 49m
November6:35 AM5:13 PM10h 38m
December7:07 AM4:53 PM9h 46m

Richmond’s longest and shortest days

Richmond’s longest day falls on June 21, 2026 with 14h 45m of daylight; the shortest is December 21, 2026 with just 9h 34m. The two equinoxes, when day and night run nearly equal, sit in between.

Solar landmarkDateDaylight
Longest day (summer solstice)June 21, 202614h 45m
Spring equinoxMarch 20, 202612h 8m
Fall equinoxSeptember 22, 202612h 10m
Shortest day (winter solstice)December 21, 20269h 34m

How fast Richmond gains and loses daylight

The pace of change is not steady. Each month gains or loses a different amount, fastest around the equinoxes and nearly frozen at the solstices. The rate below is the daily change mid-month; the net is the full swing across the month.

MonthDaily rateNet change
Januarygaining 1m 21s a day+42m
Februarygaining 2m 14s a day+1h 2m
Marchgaining 2m 26s a day+1h 15m
Aprilgaining 2m 18s a day+1h 8m
Maygaining 1m 42s a day+50m
Junegaining 20s a day+8m
Julylosing 1m 12s a day−38m
Augustlosing 2m 6s a day−1h 5m
Septemberlosing 2m 23s a day−1h 11m
Octoberlosing 2m 20s a day−1h 11m
Novemberlosing 1m 47s a day−51m
Decemberlosing 23s a day−9m

Richmond golden hour & blue hour by season

Golden hour is the warm, low-sun light; blue hour is the cooler twilight that brackets it. These windows come from Richmond’s true solar geometry — the sun’s altitude, not a fixed hour — so they stretch toward the solstices and run longer than the rule-of-thumb hour.

SeasonMorning goldMorning blueEvening goldEvening blue
Spring equinox7:14 AM7:49 AM6:48 AM7:14 AM6:47 PM7:22 PM7:22 PM7:48 PM
Summer solstice5:50 AM6:29 AM5:19 AM5:50 AM7:56 PM8:35 PM8:35 PM9:06 PM
Fall equinox6:58 AM7:33 AM6:32 AM6:58 AM6:34 PM7:09 PM7:09 PM7:35 PM
Winter solstice7:22 AM8:03 AM6:52 AM7:22 AM4:15 PM4:56 PM4:56 PM5:25 PM

Daylight saving time in Richmond

Richmond springs its clocks forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and falls back on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Between those dates the local clock runs an hour later, so sunrise and sunset both read later — though the amount of daylight is unchanged; only the label on the clock moves.

Clock changeDateUTC offset
Spring forwardSunday, March 8, 2026UTC−4
Fall backSunday, November 1, 2026UTC−5

Why sunset time shifts in Richmond

Sunset drifts through the year with Earth’s ~23.4° axial tilt — see the full daylight explainer.

In Richmond, the longest day carries about 14h 45m of daylight and the shortest just 9h 34m — a swing of roughly 5h 11m between the June and December solstices. The farther a place sits from the equator, the wider that gap; the pace also isn’t steady, moving fastest near the equinoxes and barely at all near the solstices. Every figure here is computed from the sun’s position for Richmond’s exact coordinates, in local time.

Golden-hour gear

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Frequently asked

What time is sunset in Richmond today?
Today's sunset time for Richmond is shown at the top of this page in local time, updated daily from astronomical sun-position data. Sunset is the moment the upper edge of the sun dips below the horizon; the warm light lingers for a golden hour beforehand and a blue hour just after.
When is golden hour in Richmond?
Golden hour in Richmond is roughly the hour just after sunrise and the hour just before sunset, when the sun sits low and the light turns warm and soft — the favorite window for photographers. The exact start and end times for today are listed above; the window is shorter near the equator and longer at high latitudes. On Richmond's longest day near the June solstice it stretches to about 14h 45m of daylight, so the golden hours run longest then.
What time is sunrise in Richmond?
Today's sunrise time for Richmond is listed above in local time. Sunrise is the moment the upper edge of the sun first appears over the horizon. Because Earth's tilt changes the sun's path through the year, sunrise drifts earlier through spring and later through autumn.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Richmond?
The day-length change for Richmond — how many minutes and seconds of daylight you're gaining or losing compared with yesterday — is shown above. Days lengthen from the winter solstice in late December to the summer solstice in late June, then shorten again through to December.

More for Richmond

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