title: What Time Is Third Shift? Hours, Pay, and the Drive Home
url: https://boardspy.site/blog/third-shift-hours/
type: Article
dateModified: 2026-10-14
publisher: BoardSpy
quick_answer: Quick answer: Third shift usually runs about 11pm to 7am. Common versions are 10pm to 6am and midnight to 8am. Your employer sets the exact hours, so check your offer or posted schedule. You drive in on empty roads and drive home into the morning rush.
primary_keyword: 3rd shift hours
keywords[5]{term}:
  3rd shift hours
  third shift hours
  what is 3rd shift
  what time is third shift
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faqs[6]{q,a}:
  What are 3rd shift hours?,3rd shift hours are usually about 11pm to 7am. Common versions are 10pm to 6am and midnight to 8am. Your employer sets the exact start and end, so check your offer or posted schedule.
  What is 3rd shift?,3rd shift is the overnight shift that follows second shift. You start late in the evening and finish the next morning. BLS counts it as a night shift: most of your hours fall between 9pm and 8am.
  What time does third shift start and end?,Third shift usually starts between 10pm and midnight and ends between 6am and 8am the next morning. An unpaid meal break can push your finish about 30 minutes later. Your employer decides which hours you work.
  How is third shift different from first and second shift?,First shift is the day shift, often about 7am to 3pm. Second shift runs about 3pm to 11pm. Third shift is overnight, about 11pm to 7am, so you sleep in the daytime. Exact times vary by workplace.
  Does third shift pay more?,Often, and usually more than second shift where both carry a premium. Federal law does not require extra pay for night work, so it depends on your employer, union contract or state. Ask what the differential is before you accept.
  Is the drive home from third shift in rush hour?,Usually, yes. In most US cities the morning peak runs about 6:30 to 9:30am, so leaving work just after 7am puts you in the middle of it. The drive in around 10:30pm is usually on near-empty roads.
citations[10]{name,url}:
  BLS, Job Flexibilities and Work Schedules Technical Note (shift definitions),https://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex2.tn.htm
  BLS, Table 7: Workers by shift usually worked, 2024-25,https://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex2.t07.htm
  BLS, Table 8: Main reason for working non-daytime schedules, 2024-25,https://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex2.t08.htm
  BLS Monthly Labor Review, Shift work pay differentials and practices in manufacturing (Dec 1985),https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1985/12/art6full.pdf
  U.S. Department of Labor, Night Work and Shift Work,https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/nightwork
  29 CFR 778.207, Other types of contract premium pay distinguished (LII),https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.207
  BLS, Cash Compensation: Supplemental pay and what it includes,https://www.bls.gov/ecec/factsheets/ecec-supplemental-pay-benefits-factsheet.htm
  NIOSH Science Blog, Sleep and Work (2012),https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2012/sleep-and-work.html
  NIOSH Science Blog, Shift Work and Sleep (2016),https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/bulletin/2016/shift-work.html
  NIOSH Training for Nurses on Shift Work and Long Work Hours, Module 11: Preventing Crashes,https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/work-hour-training-for-nurses/longhours/mod11/05.html
internal_links[8]{label,url}:
  second shift hours,https://boardspy.site/blog/second-shift-hours/
  rotating swing shift,https://boardspy.site/blog/swing-shift/
  rush hour times in the US,https://boardspy.site/blog/best-time-to-leave-for-work-avoid-traffic/
  pricing,https://boardspy.site/pricing/
  get the app,https://boardspy.site/apps/?utm_source=boardspy.site&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=blog-third-shift-hours&utm_content=apps-link
  shift calendar maker,https://boardspy.site/tools/shift-calendar-maker/
  12-hour shift schedules,https://boardspy.site/blog/12-hour-shift-schedule/
  the best shift work calendar apps,https://boardspy.site/compare/shift-work-calendar-app/