There is a reason we flock to warm weather climates for vacation. Places with sunny skies and moderate temperatures let us get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature year-round. If you don’t want to freeze in the winter or boil all summer, check out the following 10 best weather cities in America. Unsurprisingly, cities in California dominate our list.
To determine the city with the best weather, 24/7 Wall St. used Comparative Climatic Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create an index based on 11 measures such as average temperatures, precipitation, cloud cover, wind, humidity, and more. (It should be noted NOAA stopped publishing CCD after 2014, so newer rankings rely on other climate datasets). We ranked cities based on warm temperatures and relatively clear skies. Though obviously subjected, we chose 72 degrees Fahrenheit for our ideal temperature, and we penalized cities that deviated too far from this temperature. Similarly, 40 inches of rain and 40% humidity were determined as ideals, and cities were penalized if they deviated too much from those points. For more on the methodology see: The US Cities With the Absolute Best Weather, According to Data.
This post was updated on October 3, 2025 to clarify that the NOAA stopped publishing CCD after 2014, number of sunny days in Bakersfield, that low humidity can help make heat more tolerable, the vastness of LA, Hawaiian city climates, and the climate classification of Long Beach.
Why this matters
10. Bakersfield, California (82.5/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 66.2 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 37 days for an avg of 6.5 inches annually
- Avg. days over 90 F per year: 110 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 12 days
If you like hot, long summers and very mild winters, then Bakersfield could be the perfect fit. Situated inland north of Los Angeles, Bakersfield sits on the Kern River. Residents enjoy 272 days of sun/partial sun a year. Being in San Joaquin Valley, this city can get very hot. For 110 days, temperatures in the city can reach 90 degrees, with an average temperature in the summer months of 82.3 degrees, but the afternoon humidity is a near perfect average of 38%, alleviating the high temps. The winters are pleasantly mild, with an average temperature of 50.8 F, and there are only 37 rainy days a year. However, the city’s arid climate means that just 6.5 inches of rain fall annually.
9. Sacramento, California (82.6/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 61.8 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 57 days for an avg of 18.1 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 75 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 17 days
If Bakersfield is too much in terms of heat, but you’d still rather enjoy hot weather, then the capital of the state could be it for you. Sacramento, which lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River northeast of San Francisco, has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, meaning the summers are long, hot, and dry, while the winters are cool and relatively rainy. Indeed, the average winter temperature is 48.8 F, and the average summer temperature is 74.5 F. The city has fewer days of extremely hot temperatures than Bakersfield, but also more cloudy days. Residents enjoy 188 days of sun, 77 days of partly cloudy skies, and 100 cloudy days. In Sacramento, summer humidity is usually low (20–30%), but this small bit of moisture helps make the heat tolerable.
8. Santa Maria, California (82.7/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 58.6 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 46 days for an avg of 13.3 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 5 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 15 days
Known for its wine industry, Santa Maria is located on California’s central coast, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It has a cool Mediterranean climate, meaning it is mostly sunny and can get hot, but the ocean breeze helps cool things down. The result is far fewer days of temperatures reaching 90 degrees, at just five, and an average maximum temperature in the summer months at a comfortable 72.8 F. City residents enjoy about 176 days of sun and 110 days of partly cloudy skies, leaving only 79 days of fully clouded days. It rarely reaches freezing temperatures in the city, with average minimum temperature in the winter months at 41.2 F, and it still only rains for 46 days a year.
7. Fresno, California (82.7/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 65 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 45 days for an avg of 11.0 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 109 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 18 days
Another city in San Joaquin Valley, Fresno can also get very hot. Located in between San Francisco (about 185 miles southeast) and Los Angeles (roughly 220 miles north), the city is relatively close to Yosemite National Park. With its hot Mediterranean climate, the city has cool, mild winters and long, hot, dry summers similar to Bakersfield (No. 10) but with nearly double the rainfall. Still, it doesn’t rain much, with only 45 days of 0.01 inches of rain or more. City residents enjoy 194 days of clear skies and 73 days of part clouds, leaving just 98 days of clouds. While summers can get very hot, with an average temperature of 81.3 F, winters are mild, with an average temperature of 49.3 F.
6. Kahului, Hawaii (83.0/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 77.1 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 88 days for an avg of 16.2 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 29 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
Kahului is on Maui Island of Hawaii, part of the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina metropolitan area. Because it is located on the leeward side of Maui, its climate is drier than other areas of Hawaii. Compared to the cities in California listed so far, it has no days of below freezing temperatures (on average) and fewer days of temperatures reaching 90 F. It has much more even temperatures year-round, with the lows in the winter averaging 64.4 F and the highs in the summer averaging 89.1 F. While it gets more rainy days than the cities on the list so far, most of the time it is sunny or partly cloudy, with just 90 cloudy days a year.
5. Honolulu, Hawaii (84.6/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 78 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 92 days for an avg of 16.4 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 25 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
The capital of Hawaii sits on the island of Oahu’s leeward side. Similar to Kahului, it experiences a drier summer season than the rest of the island. On average, there are no days when the temperature falls below freezing, and the winter’s low temperature is just 67.7 degrees for a comfortable mean of 74.3 F in the winter months. The mean summer temperature of 81.4 F lends itself to water sports and beach activities. With only 94 cloudy days, the city’s near tropical climate is a tourist destination for both global and domestic tourists.
4. Charleston, South Carolina (85.5/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 67.2 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 107 days for an avg of 50 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 30 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 10 days
The only city on the East Coast in the top 10 American cities for weather, the county seat of Charleston County lies on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of three rivers. Though it gets more cloudy days than most of the top 10 cities (at 155 cloudy days) and more rainy days as well, the city nonetheless enjoys a humid subtropical climate, with mild winters — with a mean temperature of 52.6 F — and hot, humid summers with a meant temperature of 81 F. Summer is the wettest season, and altogether the city gets about 50 inches of rain annually, making it the wettest and lushest among the top 10. Charleston attracts tourists for its architecture, water activities, and history, and the downtown area is often more pleasant due to maritime effects.
3. San Diego, California (85.8/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 64.7 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 41 days for an avg of 9.8 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 3 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
Back to the Pacific coast, in the southern part of California near the Mexico-U.S. border, San Diego is known for its beaches. Of course, without a warm climate, it would be hard to enjoy those beaches. With no days of temperatures reaching the freezing mark (on average), San Diego has warm, dry summers with mean temperatures of 70.1 F and mild winters with mean temperatures of 58.4 F. Temperatures on only three days a year, on average, reach 90 F and over. Residents enjoy mostly sunny and partly cloudy skies and just 41 days of rain. Because of the city’s topography, it can sometimes be cloudy, cool, and damp air near the coast, but be bright and sunny some 5-10 miles inland.
2. Los Angeles, California (87.2/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 65.8 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: N/A days for an avg of 14.3 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 21 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
Those who aren’t familiar with the Los Angeles weather have not been watching movies or TV shows — so many of them are set in the sprawling Southern California metropolitan. It is almost always sunny there (only 103 cloudy days), never too cold (no days, on average, of freezing temperatures). Because LA is such a sprawling area, there are differences in hot temperature across the city. Downtown LA averages 22 days of above 90-degree temps, but areas like the Valley see 40–60+ days of 90°F. It has a semi-arid climate, and temperatures are generally temperate year-round. The mean temperature in the winter months is 58.4 F, and in the summer, it is 72.4 F.
1. Long Beach, California (87.3/100)
- Avg. annual temperature: 64.9 F
- Avg. rainy days per year: 34 days for an avg of 12.0 inches annually
- Avg. days of over 90F per year: 22 days
- Avg. days below freezing per year: 0 days
This Southern California city is ranked as having the best weather nationwide, when averaging a myriad of measures. The coastal city, which is just 21 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with semi-arid tendencies. The hot summers include about 22 days of temperatures reaching 90 F or more, and the mild to warm winters have no days of freezing temperatures (on average). Year-round there are only about 34 rainy days and 87 cloudy days. The mean temperature in the summer months is 72 F, and during the winter months it is 57.1 F. While it can get hot and humid, westerly, afternoon sea breeze helps to keep temperatures mild.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks