Thanksgiving Dates 2025–2045

Last reviewed on May 4, 2026

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is the fourth Thursday of November. It is one of the few US federal holidays that always falls on a weekday, which makes it one of the longest weekends most Americans take. This page lists the date for every year from 2025 through 2045, the related Black Friday date, and a short note on the rule.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday, 2025–2045

The rule

Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday of November, set by federal law in 1941. Because November always has either four or five Thursdays, the fourth Thursday can fall as early as November 22 or as late as November 28. There are no observed-vs-actual shifts (it's always a Thursday), and Black Friday is always the next day, November 23 at the earliest and November 29 at the latest.

For the longer history of how the date was settled and the related federal-holiday rules, see federal holidays: observed vs actual dates.

Why the date matters for planning

• Travel. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is consistently one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States.
• Retail. Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the following Monday) anchor the holiday-shopping season for most US retailers.
• Federal services. Federal employees, banks, USPS, and the Federal Reserve are closed Thursday. Many also close Friday by executive order in some years; check the OPM schedule for the specific year.
• School calendars. Most US public schools take the full week of Thanksgiving or at least Thursday and Friday off. This pushes the start of the academic semester one week earlier in late August.

Earliest, latest, and most common dates

Across any 28-year cycle of the Gregorian calendar, Thanksgiving falls on each of November 22–28 exactly four times — there's no year of the cycle where it's more or less common. November 22 and November 28 are the rarest in everyday memory only because they are the boundary dates that trigger the most "is Thanksgiving early/late this year?" conversations.

Common questions

Is Thanksgiving always on a Thursday?

Yes. Federal law fixes the date as the fourth Thursday of November.

What's the difference between US and Canadian Thanksgiving?

Canadian Thanksgiving is on the second Monday of October, not the fourth Thursday of November. It is also a much smaller holiday in commercial terms; there is no Black Friday equivalent.

Does the day after Thanksgiving count as a federal holiday?

No. The Friday after Thanksgiving is not a federal holiday by statute. Many federal employees do receive the day off by presidential executive order, and most US private employers treat it as a day off. Banks and the USPS are open.

Related

• 2026 US federal holidays — full list with dates.
• Memorial Day dates 2025–2045 — the other major Monday holiday.
• Working days vs calendar days — November is statistically the shortest working-day month.
• Federal holidays observed vs actual — for the holidays that do shift.