Virginia operates on Eastern Standard Time (EST) during winter months, which is 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-5). During daylight saving time, observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, Virginia switches to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), which is UTC-4.
All of Virginia follows the same time zone. Major cities including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, and Newport News all observe Eastern Time. This makes scheduling across Virginia straightforward, as there's no time difference within the state.
Virginia is adjacent to Washington DC and home to many federal contractors and tech companies. When it's 9 AM in Virginia Beach, it's the same time in DC and New York, facilitating government and defense industry coordination.