Times are for downtown Nashville (about 36.16 N, 86.78 W), from the U.S. Naval Observatory one-year tables for 2026. "Dark" means the end of civil twilight, explained below. Sunrise is given for the 15th.
January: sunset 4:44 PM on the 1st, 4:56 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 5:24 PM. Sunrise 6:57 AM.
February: sunset 5:14 PM on the 1st, 5:28 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 5:55 PM. Sunrise 6:34 AM.
March: sunset 5:42 PM on the 1st (standard time), 6:55 PM on the 15th (daylight saving time began March 8). Dark by about 7:20 PM. Sunrise 6:58 AM.
April: sunset 7:09 PM on the 1st, 7:21 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 7:48 PM. Sunrise 6:14 AM.
May: sunset 7:35 PM on the 1st, 7:47 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 8:15 PM. Sunrise 5:41 AM.
June: sunset 7:59 PM on the 1st, 8:06 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 8:36 PM. Sunrise 5:29 AM.
July: sunset 8:08 PM on the 1st, 8:04 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 8:34 PM. Sunrise 5:42 AM.
August: sunset 7:52 PM on the 1st, 7:37 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 8:04 PM. Sunrise 6:05 AM.
September: sunset 7:15 PM on the 1st, 6:54 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 7:20 PM. Sunrise 6:30 AM.
October: sunset 6:31 PM on the 1st, 6:11 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 6:37 PM. Sunrise 6:54 AM.
November: sunset 4:51 PM on the 1st (the clocks fell back that morning), 4:39 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 5:06 PM. Sunrise 6:24 AM.
December: sunset 4:33 PM on the 1st, 4:34 PM on the 15th. Dark by about 5:02 PM. Sunrise 6:51 AM.
The earliest sunset of 2026 is 4:32 PM, from December 2 through December 9, almost two weeks before the shortest day. The latest is 8:08 PM, from June 21 through July 6. The latest sunrise by the clock is 7:09 AM on October 31, the final morning before the clocks fall back.
Sunset is the moment the top edge of the sun meets a level horizon, and plenty of light is left. The Naval Observatory says civil twilight ends when the center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and that after this, artificial light is normally needed for ordinary outdoor activity. In Nashville that gap runs 25 to 31 minutes: shortest in March and from mid-September to mid-October, longest around the end of June. A light switched on right at sunset barely shows for its first quarter hour, which is why several recipes here start 15 or 20 minutes later.
For the same date in 2027, sunrise and sunset fall within a minute of 2026, except between the two years' clock changes. In 2027 the spring change is March 14 and the fall change November 7, so on March 8 to 13 the 2027 clock times run an hour earlier than this list, and on November 1 to 6 an hour later.
East is earlier. On June 15, 2026, sunset is 8:04 PM in Lebanon and Murfreesboro, 8:06 PM downtown and 8:07 PM in Fairview. On December 15 it is 4:32 PM in Lebanon and 4:36 PM in Fairview.