How you take to the weather where you live can be a major factor in how much you enjoy living there. U.S. News went on the hunt for the metro areas – out of the 125 largest in the U.S. considered for the Best Places to Live ranking – that offer the most moderate temperatures and plenty of sunshine. We used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information, factoring in the average number of cloudy days and the average number of days above 90 degrees or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Those with the fewest cloudy days and the most balanced temperatures made our list. Read on for the Best Places to Live in the U.S. for the Weather.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 65 Metro Population: 727,371 Median Home Price: $143,217 Median Annual Salary: $43,050 Days Below Freezing: 55 Days Above 90 Degrees: 75 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 219
The capital of Arkansas typically has 55 days with lows below 32 degrees and 75 days above 90 degrees during the year. With 219 days of clear or partly cloudy skies, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the weather in Little Rock.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 117 Metro Population: 1,341,339 Median Home Price: $142,908 Median Annual Salary: $42,940 Days Below Freezing: 53 Days Above 90 Degrees: 68 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 214
Tied with the next place on the list and located along the Mississippi River in southwestern Tennessee, Memphis offers residents an average of 53 days with a low temperature below freezing and 68 days that peak above 90 degrees.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 31 Metro Population: 862,064 Median Home Price: $159,692 Median Annual Salary: $42,290 Days Below Freezing: 61 Days Above 90 Degrees: 40 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 221
Located in the northwestern portion of South Carolina, Greenville enjoys milder weather partly due to its proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Of the 221 days residents can spot some sun throughout the year, a little over half are clear days, with an average of 100 partly cloudy days.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 95 Metro Population: 1,141,309 Median Home Price: $158,108 Median Annual Salary: $46,440 Days Below Freezing: 51 Days Above 90 Degrees: 61 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 210
Birmingham comes in at No. 17 with a decent number of both hot and cold days, although residents experience, on average, 10 more days above 90 degrees during the year than they endure temperatures below 32 degrees. With 155 completely cloudy days out of the year, Birmingham residents typically see just 99 fully clear days annually.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 118 Metro Population: 795,562 Median Home Price: $236,252 Median Annual Salary: $45,230 Days Below Freezing: 22 Days Above 90 Degrees: 82 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 261
Tied at No. 15 with nearby Stockton, California, Modesto enjoys a good deal of days above 90 degrees, with 82 hot days a year, on average. But cold nights are far less frequent. The Modesto area typically hits freezing temperatures or below 22 days throughout the year.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 124 Metro Population: 714,860 Median Home Price: $321,658 Median Annual Salary: $46,020 Days Below Freezing: 22 Days Above 90 Degrees: 82 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 261
Similar in population size to Modesto, neighboring Stockton also occupies the No. 15 spot. With an average of only 104 cloudy days per year, residents are lucky enough to enjoy some sun more than 70 percent of the year.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 92 Metro Population: 2,242,542 Median Home Price: $362,858 Median Annual Salary: $54,690 Days Below Freezing: 18 Days Above 90 Degrees: 73 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 265
A bit milder on both the cold and hot ends of the spectrum, Sacramento is about 75 miles north of Stockton and Modesto. The Northern California metro area – and the state’s capital city – averages 265 clear or partly cloudy days per year.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 125 Metro Population: 2,230,563 Median Home Price: $153,900 Median Annual Salary: $29,610 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 65 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 276
Puerto Rico’s capital city sees 65 days that hit above 90 degrees but no days dipping below freezing temperatures. San Juan’s location in the Caribbean means it has an elevated risk of storms during hurricane season. But those storms certainly aren’t the whole story, as the San Juan area averages 276 clear or partly cloudy days annually.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 74 Metro Population: 419,585 Median Home Value: $142,200* Median Annual Salary: $35,650 Days Below Freezing: 41 Days Above 90 Degrees: 44 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 215
The popular tourist destination in coastal South Carolina doesn’t reach above 90 degrees more than 44 days a year, on average. Still, residents and visitors alike don’t have to worry about too many gloomy days – typically 215 days per year are either clear or partly cloudy.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 5 Metro Population: 503,642 Median Home Price: $182,508 Median Annual Salary: $44,980 Days Below Freezing: 72 Days Above 90 Degrees: 77 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 218
This Arkansas metro area has roughly 30 more cold and hot days per year than Myrtle Beach, but the weather extremes balance each other out. Additionally, Fayetteville sees three more clear or partly cloudy days per year.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 47 Metro Population: 5,612,777 Median Home Price: $192,892 Median Annual Salary: $50,720 Days Below Freezing: 44 Days Above 90 Degrees: 43 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 217
Atlanta gets some cool nights and its fair share of hot days, but those almost completely cancel each other out across an entire year. With an average of 149 cloudy days per year, Georgia’s capital has more gloomy days than others on the list, but the sun is certainly present most days.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 84 Metro Population: 970,603 Median Home Price: $148,788 Median Annual Salary: $44,840 Days Below Freezing: 76 Days Above 90 Degrees: 73 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 235
The first of two Oklahoma metro areas on the list, Tulsa comes in at No. 9 with a difference of just three days between the average nights dipping below freezing and average days peaking at 90 degrees or above.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 63 Metro Population: 1,337,075 Median Home Price: $150,533 Median Annual Salary: $45,280 Days Below Freezing: 76 Days Above 90 Degrees: 71 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 235
While Oklahoma City experiences plenty of cold nights and hot days, a near-even balance between the two makes either extreme seem more tolerable for a full year. Of those 235 days where residents see at least some sun, 139 of those, on average, are completely clear.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 101 Metro Population: 18,463,122 Median Home Price: $526,442 Median Annual Salary: $53,379 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 21 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 263
Not the only SoCal metro area on the list, Los Angeles averages just 103 cloudy days per year. With no nights of freezing temperatures and 21 days over 90 degrees, the City of Angels makes for a great place to enjoy warm weather without extremes.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 35 Metro Population: 986,999 Median Home Price: $581,658 Median Annual Salary: $51,080 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 24 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 271
That tropical vacation wasn’t too good to be true – Hawaii’s weather really is that nice all the time. Honolulu’s island location is the perfect spot if you want to avoid freezing lows at night and experience few days above 90 degrees.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 17 Metro Population: 1,943,107 Median Home Price: $932,108 Median Annual Salary: $78,990 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 2 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 260
Tied for fourth place with a close Bay Area neighbor, San Jose averages only two days above 90 degrees per year and doesn’t experience freezing temperatures at all. It’s no wonder the city is the capital of Silicon Valley – tech startups can’t resist the ideal weather.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 20 Metro Population: 4,577,530 Median Home Price: $790,233 Median Annual Salary: $69,110 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 2 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 260
Known for its rolling fog, it may come as a surprise that San Francisco comes in at No. 4 on the list. But that fog often burns off by the afternoon – and 260 days out of the year are typically clear or partly cloudy.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 30 Metro Population: 3,253,356 Median Home Price: $521,067 Median Annual Salary: $55,480 Days Below Freezing: 0 Days Above 90 Degrees: 3 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 263
With no freezing days and an average of just three days over 90 degrees, San Diego is No. 3 on the list of Best Places to Live in the U.S. for the Weather. And with just 102 cloudy days per year on average, you’ll be spending plenty of time on the beach enjoying the blue skies and sunshine.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 114 Metro Population: 430,201 Median Home Price: $478,521 Median Annual Salary: $47,660 Days Below Freezing: 6 Days Above 90 Degrees: 3 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 267
Located just inland from Monterey Bay and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, Salinas offers residents only six nights below freezing and three above 90 degrees, on average, throughout the year.
Best Places 2018 Rank: 68 Metro Population: 439,395 Median Home Price: $464,392 Median Annual Salary: $53,090 Days Below Freezing: 6 Days Above 90 Degrees: 3 Mean Number of Clear or Partly Cloudy Days: 286
A little northwest of Los Angeles along the California coast, Santa Barbara benefits from beach breezes and the beauty of Los Padres National Forest. With as few as 79 cloudy days per year, on average, Santa Barbara tops the list of Best Places to Live in the U.S. for the Weather.
Devon Thorsby
is the Real Estate editor at U.S. News & World Report, where she writes consumer-focused articles about the homebuying and selling process, home improvement, tenant rights and the state of the housing market.
She has appeared in media interviews across the U.S. including National Public Radio, WTOP (Washington, D.C.) and KOH (Reno, Nevada) and various print publications, as well as having served on panels discussing real estate development, city planning policy and homebuilding.
Previously, she served as a researcher of commercial real estate transactions and information, and is currently a member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Thorsby studied Political Science at the University of Michigan, where she also served as a news reporter and editor for the student newspaper The Michigan Daily. Follow her on Twitter or write to her at dthorsby@usnews.com.