Last 8 p.m. sunsets of 2026 vary among Bay Area regions. Here's why

The days are getting shorter and shorter as summer begins to transition into fall, with the last 8 p.m. sunsets of the year having already happened in many locations across the country.

San Jose and Santa Cruz's last 8 p.m. sunset was Aug. 14. San Francisco's last 8 p.m. sunset is Aug. 16. And Santa Rosa's is Aug. 18. 

But the big question is, why is the last 8 p.m. sunset later in the North Bay compared the South Bay? 

It mostly has to do with the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis (about 23.5 degrees) as it spins around the sun. During the summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. At far northern latitudes, above the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn't set in the summer, they see 24 hours of daylight, while at the equator it's about 12 hours of daylight.

So, the farther north you go, the later the sunset will be in the summertime! 

But both Santa Cruz and San Jose's last 8 p.m. sunsets of the year were the same, even though Santa Cruz is definitely farther south. That's because the east/west direction does come into play as well, mainly because of time zones. Locations on the western edges of a time zone experience later sunset times than locations on the eastern edge of the same time zone, mainly because the sun sets to the west! 

So, the farther northwest you are, the later the sunset times will be! Imagine invisible, diagonal lines that run across the time zones, where two locations see the same sunset time hundreds of miles away. 

Connecting the diagonal lines from Santa Monica to Ridgecrest, both see their last 8 p.m. sunset on July 25, to Fresno and San Luis Obispo on Aug. 6; both San Jose and Sacramento on Aug. 14;, and Fort Bragg shares a final 8 p.m. sunset date with Medford, Oregon.

Just remember, this is only the case during the summer months; it is the complete opposite during the winter. As the seasons change and the Northern Hemisphere starts tilting away from the sun, the northern latitudes lose daylight much faster than southern latitudes.

In fact, by Oct. 1, both San Francisco and Medford, Oregon, will have the same sunset time. Sunsets by the winter solstice are much earlier farther north compared to south. But the western side of a time zone will always have later sunsets compared to the east, simply because the sun sets to the west so they can see it for longer.