Plugs and voltage
The United States uses Types A and B sockets. Mains supply is 120 V at 60 Hz.
At 120 V, devices from 220–240 V countries that are not dual-voltage will run weakly or not at all. Chargers labelled “100–240V” work fine with just a plug adapter.
Adapter guides: from United Kingdom · from Canada · from Australia · from India · from Germany · from France · from China · from Ireland · from New Zealand · from South Africa · from Japan · from South Korea · from Philippines · from Brazil · from Mexico · from Italy · from Spain · from Netherlands · from Singapore · from United Arab Emirates
Money
$ US Dollar USD
| 1 EUR | 1.12 USD |
|---|---|
| 1 GBP | 1.34 USD |
| 1 JPY | 0.006359 USD |
| 1 AUD | 0.7025 USD |
Price level 100 (US = 100, 2025)
Everyday household prices in the United States are about 100% of US prices when converted at market exchange rates: dearer than the median country (50). All countries
Language
- Englishde facto official96%
Also official in some regions: Spanish, Hawaiian.
Bars show the share of the population that speaks each language (CLDR estimates).
Time
The United States spans 6 time offsets right now:
- UTC−10 observes DST America / Adak, Pacific / Honolulu
- UTC−9 observes DST America / Anchorage, America / Juneau, America / Sitka…
- UTC−8 observes DST America / Los Angeles
- UTC−7 observes DST America / Denver, America / Boise, America / Phoenix
- UTC−6 observes DST America / Chicago, America / Indiana / Tell City, America / Indiana / Knox…
- UTC−5 observes DST America / New York, America / Detroit, America / Kentucky / Louisville…
The capital is on UTC−5 (America/New_York).
Driving
Traffic in the United States drives on the right, so the steering wheel is on the left.
Public holidays in the next 12 months
13 national public holidays from 2 November 2026. Banks, offices and many shops close; regional holidays are not shown. Dates marked “estimated” follow a lunar calendar and can move by a day.
November 2026
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
December 2026
- Christmas Day
January 2027
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 2027
- Washington's Birthday
May 2027
- Memorial Day
June 2027
- Juneteenth National Independence Day (observed)
- Juneteenth National Independence Day
July 2027
- Independence Day
- Independence Day (observed)
September 2027
- Labor Day
October 2027
- Columbus Day
Travel advisories
United States · State Department
Home country: the State Department issues no travel advisory.
United Kingdom · FCDO
No warnings The FCDO does not advise against travel to the United States.
Updated 2026-10-30. Read the full advice. Checked 2026-11-02.
Advisories are written for each government's own citizens and change without notice: read the original before you travel.
Other practical facts
- Calling code
- +1
- Internet domain
- .us
- Measurement
- US customary; temperatures in °F
- Paper size
- US-Letter
- Week starts on
- Sunday
- Read more
- Wikipedia
More in Northern America
Flag: Flag of the United States (DDD-F-416E specifications).svg, Public domain. Arms: Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg, Public domain. Electricity: resolved by intl.life from three sources, see methodology.
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