People’s preferences about the weather where they live span a broad set of options. People who enjoy outdoor winter weather tend to live in the northernmost cities of the Northeast or in the more mountainous Plains States. People who don’t want temperatures that drop below 60ºF often choose Arizona, Florida, or Southern California. A favorite city among those who want very dry weather is Phoenix. People who like rain (probably a small part of the U.S. population) enjoy cities such as Seattle. (These are the cities with the most unusual weather in 2021.)
With geography that runs from northern Alaska to the southernmost parts of Texas and Florida and west to tropical Hawaii, America offers countless choices for types of weather. Temperatures across the country can range from well under zero to over 100 F. For anyone who likes a temperate climate, though, the American city with the best weather is Honolulu, Hawaii.
To determine the cities with the best weather, 24/7 Wall St. used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create an index based on numerous factors.
These were average number of days per year with a maximum temperature of 90 F or higher, average number of days per year with a minimum temperature of 32 F or lower, average number of days per year with 0.01 inches of precipitation or more, average wind speed, mean number of clear days per year, mean number of cloudy days per year, absolute difference in average year-round relative humidity in the afternoon from an ideal 40% humidity level, absolute difference in normal daily maximum temperature from an ideal temperature of 72 F, absolute difference in normal daily minimum temperature from 72 F, absolute difference in normal daily mean temperature from 72 F, annual number of normal temperature days (the number of degrees that the daily average temperature falls below 65 F), and absolute difference in average annual precipitation from an ideal annual rainfall total of 40 inches. All values were weighted equally.
Click here to see the American cities with the best weather
The cities we considered for best weather are concentrated in just five states: Florida, California, Georgia, Hawaii, and Texas. These states all have significant coastlines. The ocean releases heat relatively slowly compared to land, so coastal areas tend to stay warmer in the summer.
This pleasant weather can be a huge driving factor influencing people to move, whether it is retirees spending their golden years in the sun or younger working adults who want to avoid snow – all of whom would definitely want to avoid the 22 coldest towns in North America.
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25. Fresno, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 64.3 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 45 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 20 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 194 days
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24. Bakersfield, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 65.2 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 37 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 13 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 191 days
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23. Athens, Georgia
> Avg. annual temperature: 62.5 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 111 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 51 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 113 days
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22. Atlanta, Georgia
> Avg. annual temperature: 62.5 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 115 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 44 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 110 days
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21. Columbus, Georgia
> Avg. annual temperature: 65.6 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 109 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 37 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 110 days
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20. Santa Maria, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 57.5 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 46 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 15 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 176 days
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19. Sacramento, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 61.0 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 57 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 18 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 188 days
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18. Pensacola, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 67.4 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 112 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 14 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 105 days
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17. Austin, Texas
> Avg. annual temperature: 69.3 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 84 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 17 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 115 days
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16. Augusta, Georgia
> Avg. annual temperature: 65.2 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 108 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 52 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 112 days
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15. Savannah, Georgia
> Avg. annual temperature: 66.7 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 110 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 27 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 104 days
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14. Jacksonville, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 68.5 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 114 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 15 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 94 days
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13. West Palm Beach, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 75.4 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 133 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 75 days
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12. Orlando, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 73.3 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 117 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 2 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 89 days
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11. Miami, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 77.2 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 133 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 74 days
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10. Fort Myers, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 75.1 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 112 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 1 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 98 days
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9. Key West, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 78.0 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 107 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 104 days
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8. Daytona Beach, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 70.8 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 116 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 5 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 97 days
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7. Tampa, Florida
> Avg. annual temperature: 73.4 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 107 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 2 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 101 days
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6. Kahului, Hawaii
> Avg. annual temperature: 75.8 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 88 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 131 days
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5. Lihue, Hawaii
> Avg. annual temperature: 75.8 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 196 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 56 days
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4. San Diego, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 63.6 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 41 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 146 days
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3. Long Beach, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 64.7 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 34 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 1 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 159 days
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2. Los Angeles, California
> Avg. annual temperature: 65.4 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 35 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 186 days
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1. Honolulu, Hawaii
> Avg. annual temperature: 77.7 F
> Avg. days of rain per year: 93 days
> Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
> Avg. sunny days per year: 90 days
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