Cloudiest cities in the US

These are the cloudiest US cities, counting the days each year when clouds cover most of the sky. Rankings cover the 342 US cities with a population of 100,000 or more, using 1991 to 2020 climate normals.

Anchorage, AK tops the list at 274 days against 53 days for Henderson, NV at the other end. 7 of the top 10 cities are in Washington.

Jump to the full ranking

Analysis

Two cloud belts and one runaway champion

No leader on any of these seven lists wins by a margin like Anchorage's here. Its edge over second place is proportionally the widest winning margin on any list on this site, and the machinery behind it is straightforward. The Gulf of Alaska is one of the stormiest bodies of water on earth, the subpolar storm track aims at it for most of the year, and weak northern sun angles do little to break up the cloud decks those storms leave behind. Anchorage spends roughly three quarters of its days under mostly cloudy skies.

The first of the two mainland cloud belts is the Pacific Northwest. Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Tacoma, and Vancouver cluster tightly with Portland and Gresham just behind, all within a few cloudy days of one another. Their clouds are maritime: stratus and frontal decks rolling off the Pacific from October through April, followed by famously clear summers. Note the snowfall column next to them. Mild ocean air makes cloud without cold, so all that gray only rarely turns white.

The second belt rings the eastern Great Lakes: Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, which sits close enough to catch the lakes' winter cloud shield. Cold air crossing open lake water in the cold season builds a stratocumulus deck that can hold for weeks, the same process that fuels lake effect snow running in gentler form. Unlike the Pacific cities, these pair their clouds with serious snowfall. Anchorage and Syracuse are the only cities that crack the top ten of both the cloudiest and the snowiest lists.

The clear end of the table belongs to the Las Vegas valley, the same cities that lead the sunniest list. That symmetry is by construction. A cloudy day is a day whose average cloud cover exceeds the calibrated threshold that defines a sunny day, so the two lists are the two ends of a single measurement. Sky cover remains model derived, a documented limitation on the data sources page, but the belts it draws match the sky cover tables in NOAA's published normals well.

Sources: NOAA NCEI US Climate Normals, 1991 to 2020, Open-Meteo climate data.

Common questions

Is Seattle the cloudiest city in the US?

No, though it is close to the top. Seattle ranks 3 with 218 cloudy days per year, while Anchorage, AK leads at 274.

Is Portland or Seattle cloudier?

Seattle is cloudier. It averages 218 cloudy days per year against 206 for Portland.

How many cloudy days do New York and Chicago get?

New York averages 163 cloudy days per year and Chicago 185, placing them 82 and 33 of the 342 cities on this list.

Cloudiest cities in the US, ranked by cloudy days per year
Rank	City	State	Cloudy days	Avg temp	Wet days	Snowfall
1	Anchorage	AK	274 days	38 °F	115	78 in
2	Everett	WA	219 days	52 °F	179	15 in
3	Seattle	WA	218 days	54 °F	157	6 in
4	Bellevue	WA	218 days	54 °F	157	6 in
5	Kent	WA	218 days	54 °F	154	6 in
6	Renton	WA	218 days	54 °F	154	6 in
7	Vancouver	WA	216 days	54 °F	161	17 in
8	Tacoma	WA	216 days	53 °F	138	4 in
9	Syracuse	NY	216 days	48 °F	180	116 in
10	Gresham	OR	210 days	54 °F	164	11 in
11	Rochester	NY	208 days	49 °F	167	98 in
12	Portland	OR	206 days	55 °F	157	6 in
13	Pittsburgh	PA	205 days	53 °F	158	30 in
14	Buffalo	NY	204 days	49 °F	160	92 in
15	Akron	OH	203 days	51 °F	153	43 in
16	Grand Rapids	MI	202 days	48 °F	142	75 in
17	Cleveland	OH	202 days	52 °F	162	66 in
18	Hillsboro	OR	201 days	53 °F	159	7 in
19	Lansing	MI	201 days	49 °F	137	43 in
20	South Bend	IN	200 days	50 °F	146	59 in
21	Ann Arbor	MI	197 days	48 °F	133	59 in
22	Eugene	OR	196 days	53 °F	135	7 in
23	Salem	OR	196 days	54 °F	126	2 in
24	Toledo	OH	193 days	52 °F	131	34 in
25	Dearborn	MI	193 days	50 °F	132	32 in
26	Detroit	MI	193 days	50 °F	130	37 in
27	Warren	MI	193 days	50 °F	130	30 in
28	Sterling Heights	MI	193 days	49 °F	130	31 in
29	Fort Wayne	IN	191 days	50 °F	134	30 in
30	Columbus	OH	187 days	53 °F	135	25 in
31	Dayton	OH	186 days	53 °F	133	14 in
32	Albany	NY	186 days	50 °F	138	56 in
33	Chicago	IL	185 days	52 °F	132	37 in
34	Milwaukee	WI	185 days	49 °F	128	44 in
35	Madison	WI	183 days	47 °F	125	41 in
36	Green Bay	WI	183 days	45 °F	125	57 in
37	Aurora	IL	183 days	50 °F	125	28 in
38	Naperville	IL	183 days	50 °F	125	29 in
39	Cincinnati	OH	182 days	54 °F	130	16 in
40	Rockford	IL	182 days	49 °F	123	36 in
41	Joliet	IL	182 days	51 °F	125	19 in
42	Elgin	IL	182 days	49 °F	127	34 in
43	Carmel	IN	182 days	52 °F	130	21 in
44	Fishers	IN	182 days	52 °F	130	21 in
45	Rochester	MN	182 days	44 °F	123	51 in
46	Indianapolis	IN	181 days	53 °F	128	23 in
47	St. Paul	MN	181 days	46 °F	119	44 in
48	Lexington	KY	179 days	56 °F	136	13 in
49	Minneapolis	MN	178 days	46 °F	118	47 in
50	Louisville	KY	177 days	58 °F	128	15 in
51	Peoria	IL	175 days	52 °F	121	24 in
52	Fargo	ND	175 days	42 °F	109	51 in
53	Davenport	IA	174 days	50 °F	120	33 in
54	Cedar Rapids	IA	172 days	49 °F	118	31 in
55	Knoxville	TN	170 days	58 °F	134	5 in
56	Murfreesboro	TN	170 days	58 °F	130	4 in
57	Nashville	TN	170 days	60 °F	129	4 in
58	Chattanooga	TN	170 days	61 °F	126	3 in
59	Allentown	PA	170 days	53 °F	124	32 in
60	Spokane Valley	WA	170 days	50 °F	119	54 in
61	Springfield	IL	169 days	53 °F	119	21 in
62	Paterson	NJ	169 days	54 °F	126	34 in
63	Worcester	MA	168 days	48 °F	128	68 in
64	New Bedford	MA	168 days	51 °F	121	33 in
65	Clarksville	TN	168 days	59 °F	125	5 in
66	Brockton	MA	167 days	51 °F	123	39 in
67	Bend	OR	167 days	48 °F	63	38 in
68	Evansville	IN	167 days	59 °F	122	11 in
69	Providence	RI	166 days	52 °F	123	40 in
70	Spokane	WA	166 days	49 °F	116	48 in
71	Manchester	NH	166 days	48 °F	126	54 in
72	Newark	NJ	166 days	55 °F	123	29 in
73	Elizabeth	NJ	166 days	56 °F	123	31 in
74	Huntsville	AL	165 days	62 °F	125	2 in
75	Boston	MA	165 days	52 °F	124	50 in
76	Springfield	MA	165 days	50 °F	125	44 in
77	Hartford	CT	165 days	52 °F	125	43 in
78	Quincy	MA	165 days	51 °F	124	59 in
79	Yonkers	NY	164 days	54 °F	122	32 in
80	St. Louis	MO	164 days	58 °F	118	14 in
81	Lowell	MA	164 days	49 °F	123	61 in
82	New York	NY	163 days	56 °F	121	27 in
83	Jersey City	NJ	163 days	55 °F	121	29 in
84	Stamford	CT	163 days	53 °F	122	34 in
85	Cambridge	MA	163 days	51 °F	125	58 in
86	Lynn	MA	163 days	50 °F	125	47 in
87	New Haven	CT	163 days	52 °F	125	40 in
88	Waterbury	CT	163 days	51 °F	125	43 in
89	Philadelphia	PA	163 days	57 °F	120	18 in
90	Atlanta	GA	163 days	63 °F	125	2 in
91	Des Moines	IA	163 days	51 °F	113	35 in
92	South Fulton	GA	163 days	63 °F	125	2 in
93	Sandy Springs	GA	162 days	62 °F	126	3 in
94	Bridgeport	CT	162 days	53 °F	125	34 in
95	Columbia	MO	160 days	56 °F	116	17 in
96	Columbia	MD	160 days	57 °F	121	27 in
97	Washington	DC	160 days	58 °F	119	12 in
98	Arlington	VA	160 days	58 °F	119	14 in
99	Birmingham	AL	160 days	64 °F	127	2 in
100	Chesapeake	VA	159 days	60 °F	126	5 in
101	Norfolk	VA	159 days	61 °F	126	4 in
102	Alexandria	VA	159 days	58 °F	117	13 in
103	Virginia Beach	VA	158 days	60 °F	123	3 in
104	Baltimore	MD	158 days	59 °F	121	20 in
105	Newport News	VA	158 days	60 °F	123	4 in
106	Hampton	VA	158 days	60 °F	123	4 in
107	High Point	NC	157 days	61 °F	123	6 in
108	Greensboro	NC	157 days	60 °F	124	6 in
109	Tuscaloosa	AL	157 days	65 °F	124	1 in
110	Winston-Salem	NC	157 days	59 °F	120	6 in
111	Athens	GA	157 days	62 °F	123	2 in
112	Raleigh	NC	157 days	61 °F	124	4 in
113	Cary	NC	157 days	60 °F	124	5 in
114	Richmond	VA	157 days	58 °F	118	9 in
115	Durham	NC	157 days	60 °F	122	5 in
116	Columbus	GA	157 days	65 °F	119	1 in
117	North Charleston	SC	157 days	67 °F	132	0 in
118	Wilmington	NC	156 days	64 °F	134	1 in
119	Fayetteville	NC	156 days	62 °F	120	2 in
120	Montgomery	AL	156 days	67 °F	119	1 in
121	Macon	GA	156 days	65 °F	118	1 in
122	Charlotte	NC	155 days	62 °F	120	3 in
123	Beaumont	TX	155 days	69 °F	139	0 in
124	Sioux Falls	SD	155 days	47 °F	106	47 in
125	Tallahassee	FL	154 days	68 °F	115	0 in
126	Concord	NC	154 days	61 °F	118	4 in
127	Jacksonville	FL	154 days	70 °F	120	0 in
128	The Woodlands	TX	154 days	69 °F	120	0 in
129	Columbia	SC	153 days	65 °F	119	1 in
130	Savannah	GA	153 days	67 °F	132	0 in
131	Memphis	TN	153 days	63 °F	116	3 in
132	Augusta	GA	153 days	66 °F	119	1 in
133	Gainesville	FL	153 days	69 °F	133	0 in
134	Pasadena	TX	152 days	71 °F	124	0 in
135	Baton Rouge	LA	152 days	68 °F	115	0 in
136	Charleston	SC	151 days	67 °F	130	0 in
137	Springfield	MO	151 days	56 °F	119	12 in
138	Orlando	FL	151 days	73 °F	138	0 in
139	Houston	TX	151 days	71 °F	104	0 in
140	Independence	MO	150 days	54 °F	109	13 in
141	Pearland	TX	150 days	71 °F	127	0 in
142	Jackson	MS	150 days	66 °F	118	1 in
143	Sugar Land	TX	150 days	71 °F	120	0 in
144	Kansas City	MO	150 days	57 °F	106	12 in
145	Lee's Summit	MO	150 days	55 °F	109	11 in
146	Palm Bay	FL	149 days	73 °F	145	0 in
147	League City	TX	148 days	71 °F	128	0 in
148	Overland Park	KS	148 days	55 °F	107	14 in
149	Kansas City	KS	148 days	55 °F	107	15 in
150	Olathe	KS	148 days	55 °F	107	14 in
151	Port St. Lucie	FL	148 days	75 °F	132	0 in
152	Mobile	AL	147 days	69 °F	117	0 in
153	Little Rock	AR	147 days	62 °F	112	4 in
154	Lafayette	LA	146 days	69 °F	114	0 in
155	Fort Lauderdale	FL	146 days	77 °F	131	0 in
156	Coral Springs	FL	146 days	76 °F	160	0 in
157	Pompano Beach	FL	146 days	77 °F	160	0 in
158	West Palm Beach	FL	146 days	75 °F	127	0 in
159	Metairie	LA	145 days	71 °F	115	0 in
160	Omaha	NE	145 days	51 °F	104	31 in
161	New Orleans	LA	144 days	71 °F	115	0 in
162	Shreveport	LA	144 days	66 °F	109	1 in
163	College Station	TX	144 days	69 °F	102	0 in
164	Lakeland	FL	143 days	74 °F	127	0 in
165	Spring Hill	FL	143 days	72 °F	135	0 in
166	Tyler	TX	142 days	67 °F	104	1 in
167	Topeka	KS	142 days	55 °F	104	16 in
168	Billings	MT	142 days	48 °F	95	51 in
169	Austin	TX	142 days	70 °F	93	0 in
170	Pembroke Pines	FL	141 days	77 °F	144	0 in
171	Hollywood	FL	141 days	76 °F	131	0 in
172	Miramar	FL	141 days	77 °F	144	0 in
173	Miami Gardens	FL	141 days	76 °F	140	0 in
174	Davie	FL	141 days	77 °F	145	0 in
175	San Antonio	TX	141 days	69 °F	96	0 in
176	Brandon	FL	141 days	74 °F	119	0 in
177	Riverview	FL	141 days	73 °F	118	0 in
178	Miami	FL	139 days	77 °F	122	0 in
179	Hialeah	FL	139 days	77 °F	142	0 in
180	Round Rock	TX	139 days	67 °F	91	0 in
181	Tampa	FL	137 days	74 °F	111	0 in
182	Lincoln	NE	137 days	52 °F	102	28 in
183	St. Petersburg	FL	136 days	75 °F	132	0 in
184	Corpus Christi	TX	135 days	72 °F	98	0 in
185	Lehigh Acres	FL	134 days	75 °F	155	0 in
186	Brownsville	TX	134 days	75 °F	98	0 in
187	Mesquite	TX	133 days	67 °F	94	2 in
188	Clearwater	FL	132 days	74 °F	116	0 in
189	Waco	TX	132 days	67 °F	90	1 in
190	Killeen	TX	132 days	67 °F	87	1 in
191	Cape Coral	FL	132 days	75 °F	129	0 in
192	San Mateo	CA	131 days	59 °F	56	0 in
193	Broken Arrow	OK	131 days	61 °F	101	6 in
194	Dallas	TX	129 days	68 °F	91	2 in
195	Tulsa	OK	129 days	61 °F	100	8 in
196	Frisco	TX	128 days	65 °F	93	3 in
197	McKinney	TX	128 days	65 °F	93	3 in
198	Plano	TX	128 days	66 °F	91	2 in
199	Garland	TX	128 days	66 °F	91	2 in
200	Richardson	TX	128 days	66 °F	91	2 in
201	Allen	TX	128 days	65 °F	91	2 in
202	McAllen	TX	128 days	76 °F	74	0 in
203	Edinburg	TX	128 days	75 °F	74	0 in
204	Meridian	ID	127 days	52 °F	70	14 in
205	Nampa	ID	127 days	52 °F	70	10 in
206	Boise	ID	126 days	53 °F	73	18 in
207	Arlington	TX	126 days	66 °F	88	2 in
208	Irving	TX	126 days	67 °F	88	2 in
209	Grand Prairie	TX	126 days	66 °F	88	2 in
210	Carrollton	TX	125 days	66 °F	88	2 in
211	Lewisville	TX	125 days	66 °F	88	2 in
212	Wichita	KS	124 days	57 °F	94	12 in
213	Fort Worth	TX	123 days	67 °F	85	2 in
214	Denton	TX	122 days	65 °F	88	3 in
215	Salt Lake City	UT	121 days	55 °F	96	52 in
216	West Valley City	UT	121 days	55 °F	96	45 in
217	West Jordan	UT	120 days	54 °F	95	43 in
218	Norman	OK	120 days	61 °F	88	4 in
219	Provo	UT	118 days	55 °F	93	45 in
220	San Francisco	CA	118 days	58 °F	71	0 in
221	Oakland	CA	118 days	59 °F	55	0 in
222	Berkeley	CA	118 days	59 °F	65	0 in
223	Daly City	CA	118 days	57 °F	55	0 in
224	Oklahoma City	OK	116 days	61 °F	87	6 in
225	Laredo	TX	116 days	75 °F	66	0 in
226	Fremont	CA	114 days	60 °F	61	0 in
227	Sunnyvale	CA	114 days	60 °F	61	0 in
228	Concord	CA	110 days	62 °F	52	0 in
229	Vallejo	CA	110 days	60 °F	54	0 in
230	Richmond	CA	110 days	59 °F	59	0 in
231	Santa Clara	CA	109 days	61 °F	59	0 in
232	Hayward	CA	108 days	60 °F	53	0 in
233	Santa Rosa	CA	108 days	59 °F	60	0 in
234	Reno	NV	107 days	54 °F	51	40 in
235	Sparks	NV	107 days	53 °F	51	40 in
236	Fort Collins	CO	107 days	50 °F	94	51 in
237	Wichita Falls	TX	106 days	64 °F	77	3 in
238	Fairfield	CA	105 days	62 °F	54	0 in
239	Vacaville	CA	105 days	62 °F	54	0 in
240	Greeley	CO	105 days	52 °F	79	34 in
241	Chico	CA	103 days	62 °F	73	5 in
242	Antioch	CA	102 days	63 °F	52	0 in
243	San Jose	CA	102 days	61 °F	60	0 in
244	Boulder	CO	102 days	51 °F	101	90 in
245	Salinas	CA	101 days	58 °F	57	0 in
246	Thornton	CO	99 days	52 °F	72	51 in
247	Westminster	CO	99 days	52 °F	97	57 in
248	Abilene	TX	99 days	65 °F	69	4 in
249	Sacramento	CA	99 days	63 °F	58	0 in
250	Elk Grove	CA	99 days	63 °F	58	0 in
251	Arvada	CO	99 days	51 °F	87	70 in
252	Roseville	CA	97 days	62 °F	60	1 in
253	Denver	CO	95 days	51 °F	84	49 in
254	Lakewood	CO	95 days	51 °F	95	57 in
255	Stockton	CA	94 days	64 °F	57	0 in
256	Aurora	CO	93 days	51 °F	79	41 in
257	Highlands Ranch	CO	92 days	50 °F	105	63 in
258	Centennial	CO	91 days	50 °F	93	56 in
259	Modesto	CA	91 days	63 °F	54	0 in
260	Colorado Springs	CO	89 days	49 °F	104	50 in
261	Oceanside	CA	89 days	61 °F	38	0 in
262	Carlsbad	CA	89 days	63 °F	53	0 in
263	Murrieta	CA	86 days	65 °F	38	0 in
264	Temecula	CA	86 days	65 °F	38	0 in
265	Amarillo	TX	85 days	58 °F	71	15 in
266	Lubbock	TX	83 days	62 °F	65	7 in
267	Corona	CA	83 days	66 °F	33	0 in
268	San Diego	CA	83 days	64 °F	38	0 in
269	Chula Vista	CA	83 days	63 °F	38	0 in
270	El Cajon	CA	83 days	65 °F	38	0 in
271	Midland	TX	82 days	65 °F	60	4 in
272	Menifee	CA	82 days	65 °F	34	0 in
273	Riverside	CA	82 days	67 °F	30	0 in
274	Fontana	CA	82 days	67 °F	36	0 in
275	Ontario	CA	82 days	67 °F	35	0 in
276	Jurupa Valley	CA	82 days	67 °F	34	0 in
277	Rialto	CA	82 days	67 °F	34	0 in
278	Odessa	TX	81 days	65 °F	43	2 in
279	Pueblo	CO	81 days	53 °F	71	21 in
280	Bakersfield	CA	81 days	65 °F	35	0 in
281	Escondido	CA	80 days	66 °F	45	3 in
282	Rancho Cucamonga	CA	80 days	66 °F	35	21 in
283	Santa Ana	CA	80 days	66 °F	31	0 in
284	Huntington Beach	CA	80 days	65 °F	31	0 in
285	Garden Grove	CA	80 days	66 °F	31	0 in
286	Costa Mesa	CA	80 days	65 °F	31	0 in
287	Visalia	CA	79 days	63 °F	40	0 in
288	Honolulu	HI	78 days	75 °F	89	0 in
289	Fresno	CA	77 days	66 °F	47	0 in
290	Clovis	CA	77 days	66 °F	48	0 in
291	Pomona	CA	75 days	65 °F	38	0 in
292	Anaheim	CA	75 days	67 °F	35	0 in
293	Irvine	CA	75 days	65 °F	35	0 in
294	Orange	CA	75 days	66 °F	35	0 in
295	Fullerton	CA	74 days	67 °F	34	0 in
296	West Covina	CA	74 days	66 °F	36	0 in
297	El Monte	CA	74 days	66 °F	34	0 in
298	Norwalk	CA	74 days	66 °F	34	0 in
299	Santa Clarita	CA	74 days	66 °F	34	1 in
300	East Los Angeles	CA	73 days	66 °F	30	0 in
301	Downey	CA	73 days	66 °F	30	0 in
302	Inglewood	CA	73 days	64 °F	30	0 in
303	Simi Valley	CA	72 days	66 °F	33	0 in
304	Thousand Oaks	CA	72 days	62 °F	33	0 in
305	Long Beach	CA	72 days	65 °F	29	0 in
306	Torrance	CA	72 days	63 °F	29	0 in
307	Glendale	CA	72 days	65 °F	37	0 in
308	Pasadena	CA	72 days	66 °F	40	0 in
309	Burbank	CA	72 days	65 °F	37	0 in
310	Palmdale	CA	71 days	64 °F	27	1 in
311	Moreno Valley	CA	71 days	64 °F	38	10 in
312	Santa Maria	CA	70 days	59 °F	39	0 in
313	San Bernardino	CA	69 days	66 °F	42	14 in
314	Victorville	CA	68 days	62 °F	26	10 in
315	Hesperia	CA	68 days	64 °F	25	10 in
316	Oxnard	CA	67 days	61 °F	32	0 in
317	Ventura	CA	67 days	62 °F	32	0 in
318	Rio Rancho	NM	65 days	57 °F	51	9 in
319	Los Angeles	CA	65 days	64 °F	30	0 in
320	Tucson	AZ	63 days	71 °F	47	5 in
321	Scottsdale	AZ	62 days	70 °F	34	1 in
322	El Paso	TX	61 days	66 °F	48	3 in
323	Albuquerque	NM	61 days	57 °F	56	8 in
324	Las Cruces	NM	61 days	63 °F	50	3 in
325	Lancaster	CA	60 days	62 °F	26	5 in
326	Mesa	AZ	59 days	72 °F	33	0 in
327	San Tan Valley	AZ	59 days	72 °F	35	0 in
328	Phoenix	AZ	58 days	74 °F	33	0 in
329	Chandler	AZ	58 days	73 °F	32	0 in
330	Gilbert	AZ	58 days	72 °F	32	0 in
331	Tempe	AZ	58 days	73 °F	33	0 in
332	Las Vegas	NV	57 days	69 °F	22	2 in
333	Peoria	AZ	57 days	72 °F	31	0 in
334	Surprise	AZ	56 days	71 °F	30	0 in
335	Glendale	AZ	56 days	72 °F	29	0 in
336	Goodyear	AZ	56 days	74 °F	29	0 in
337	Enterprise	NV	55 days	69 °F	28	1 in
338	Spring Valley	NV	55 days	69 °F	27	1 in
339	Paradise	NV	55 days	70 °F	26	1 in
340	North Las Vegas	NV	55 days	70 °F	21	1 in
341	Sunrise Manor	NV	55 days	70 °F	21	1 in
342	Henderson	NV	53 days	70 °F	24	0 in

Compare the leaders

Methodology

A cloudy day is a day whose average cloud cover exceeds 63 percent, the same calibrated threshold that defines a sunny day. Rankings include the 342 US cities with a population of 100,000 or more; ties break by population. Smaller towns carry the same data on their own pages, found through the state pages. Methods and sources are described on the data sources page.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, ERA5-Land).