Sunniest cities in the US

These are the US cities with the most sunny days per year, counting every day with clear or partly cloudy skies over a 30 year average. Rankings cover the 342 US cities with a population of 100,000 or more, using 1991 to 2020 climate normals.

Henderson, NV tops the list at 312 days against 92 days for Anchorage, AK at the other end. 6 of the top 10 cities are in Nevada.

Jump to the full ranking

Analysis

Why the desert Southwest owns this list

The top of this list is a clean sweep for two desert metros. The suburbs of the Las Vegas valley and the cities around Phoenix fill every leading spot, all of them logging more than three hundred sunny days in a typical year. The reason sits high in the atmosphere. For most of the year a ridge of high pressure parks over the Southwest, and the air beneath it sinks. Sinking air warms and dries as it descends, which dissolves clouds before they can form. Add the rain shadows cast by the Sierra Nevada and the Pacific coastal ranges, which wring the moisture out of westerly storms long before they reach Nevada or Arizona, and there is very little left to make a cloud with.

The gap between the two metros is small but real, and it has a physical explanation. In July and August the North American monsoon pulls tropical moisture north into Arizona and builds afternoon thunderheads over the Phoenix area. The Las Vegas valley sits at the ragged northern edge of that circulation, so its summers stay clearer. You can read the difference in the wet days column: the Nevada cities at the top of the table record noticeably fewer wet days than their Arizona neighbors.

The famous absence is Florida. The Sunshine State does not place a single city near the top, and Miami trails the desert leaders by roughly eighty sunny days a year. Subtropical humidity is the culprit. Warm moist air builds cumulus by midday for much of the year, and in the wet season those clouds grow into almost daily thunderstorms. Florida sunshine is real, but it shares the sky.

It is worth knowing what this ranking measures. A sunny day is a day whose average cloud cover stays at or below a threshold calibrated against the sky cover tables in NOAA's published climate normals, so clear days and partly cloudy days both count. Sky cover is one of the two metric families on this site that remain model derived rather than anchored to station measurements, a limitation documented on the data sources page. The pattern the model paints, a desert Southwest sweep with the marine Northwest at the bottom, matches the published normals closely.

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

Common questions

How many sunny days does New York get per year?

New York averages 202 sunny days per year, ranking 260 of the 342 cities on this list. Among other big cities, Chicago averages 180, Philadelphia averages 203, Houston averages 215, and Dallas averages 236.

What are the sunniest cities in California?

Lancaster leads California at 306 sunny days per year, ranking 18 nationally. Los Angeles averages 300 and San Diego 283.

What is the sunniest place in Alaska?

Anchorage is the only Alaska city in this ranking pool, averaging 92 sunny days per year, last of the 342 cities here. Smaller Alaska towns carry the same data on their own pages.

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

Compare the leaders

Methodology

A sunny day is a day whose average cloud cover is 63 percent or less, a threshold calibrated against the sky cover tables in NOAA's published climate normals. 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).