US Cities With the Best Weather

For many people, climate is one of the biggest considerations in choosing a city to visit, move to, or retire. Use these lists to find cities with the best weather in the United States for each season and month.

The lists here apply research results to select which of America's major cities have the best weather. Studies have found that most people prefer the same kind of city weather.

Based on this, the ideal weather targets that were used here are daily maximum temperatures of 68 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 26 degrees Celsius) and no more than eight days a month with rain. Other factors were light winds, averaging under 10 miles per hour (16 kilometres an hour) and receiving more sunshine than most other US cities.

That's an ideal which is hard to achieve. No American city manages to meet it and have perfect weather all year round. Cities that lie just outside of these climatic ideals still rank among those with the best weather in the country. And as the seasons change, most major cities rank among the best in weather for some of the year.

Cities that were evaluated for best weather are the 56 metropolitan areas in the United States with the most people. These are all the cities with over one million residents in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau. While this just selects for large US cities, any places nearby that have similar geography likely share their good weather.

These rankings of cities for best climate have been updated using the latest data for 30-year weather averages. You can review weather data for all the major US cities, including temperature, precipitation, sunshine, wind and much more.

Cities With Warmest and Driest Winter Weather

Cities with warm winter weather exist in Florida, Hawaii, southern Arizona and southern California, where the climate remains wonderful for the entire season.

The best weather all winter occurs at Miami, Orlando and Tampa which stay warm, dry and sunny enough to achieve ideal conditions. During January and February similarly outstanding weather is also likely in Phoenix, Riverside and Los Angeles.

Honolulu heats up more than other cities listed here, with daily highs typically in the low 80s. Otherwise the cities noted here remain a little cooler during winter months, although daily highs usually reach the mid-60s Fahrenheit.

The cities listed here mainly have six to eight days a month with some rainfall. Phoenix and Tucson are notably drier than the rest, averaging just four days of rain per month throughout winter.

Cities With Great Spring Weather

Only Los Angeles maintains ideal weather during every month of spring. Elsewhere in California, along with Florida and Arizona the stretch of perfect spring weather is briefer. These cities are typically cooler or hotter than ideal during some portions of spring.

Houston and New Orleans fall short of having flawless weather only because they are slightly cloudier. Dallas and Las Vegas are a little windier. Other cities listed below have more frequent spring showers, but otherwise excellent weather.

Best City Weather in Summer

Many places in the country with great fall and spring weather get too hot for comfort during summer. Only San Jose in June and San Diego in July and August manage to have temperatures that peak in the moderate range while the climate also stays dry, sunny and calm. Outside these months, the coastal California cities are less than perfect, though not by much. San Diego is cloudier, while San Jose gets hotter.

Other cities on the best of summer list have moderate temperatures compared to most American cities, although they still heat up to above ideal. Exceptions to high temperatures occur at Seattle, Minneapolis and Rochester which do manage to maintain comfortable temperatures during these months. Seattle however is a little cloudier than preferred. Minneapolis and Rochester are somewhat rainier than the rest of the best.

Cities With Ideal Fall Weather

Fall is the easiest time of year to find a place in the United States with idyllic weather. While the country transitions from the heat of summer to chillier months, there are always numerous cities to choose from with perfect temperatures and lots of sun along with little wind and rain. But only one city manages to keep up the ideal weather for the enire season: San Diego.

Without exception, all the cities listed here achieve the standard for ideal weather in the month.