Best Weather Cities in the United States

There are sixteen cities in the United States that have average annual sunshine levels of 74% or better, which makes them the sixteen best weather cities in the United States. If you like plenty of sunshine and believe in the Vitamin D health benefits of the sun these cities are the best places to live in the US. 

On average, these cities are sunny every 3 out of 4 days. Surprisingly, only one of the cities is located along the coast. The cities are spread out over eight different states and while some of the names are easily guessed others are much more difficult to come up with. How many of the 16 sunniest cities in the United States can you name?

Best Weather Cities in the United States

1) Yuma, Arizona - 90%

At 90%, Yuma, Arizona is not only the sunniest city in the United States but according to the Guinness Book of World Records it is the sunniest place on planet Earth. About 100,000 people live in Yuma, though the number swells to almost double that in the winter as people flock to the hot, dry and sunny desert city to escape cold temperatures and snow. Yuma only receives about 3 inches of annual rainfall.

2) Redding, California - 88%

At 88%, Redding ranks as the second sunniest city in the United States. Redding is located in central Northern California and is the county seat of Shasta County. A bit over 100,000 people live in Redding and it is believed the city holds the world record for the highest average daily temperatures recorded above the 40th degree latitude. 

Redding gets an average of 33.5 inches of yearly rainfall. While most people associate Southern California cities like Los Angeles and San Diego with sunshine it's Redding that has the most sunshine in the Golden State. LA at 73% and San Diego at 68% sunshine do not even make this list.

3) Las Vegas, Nevada - 85%

The entertainment capital of the world, as Las Vegas bills itself, is also one of the sunniest places in the world. Las Vegas became a city in 1911 and today almost 2 million people live in the greater Las Vegas area. Las Vegas receives just 4.5 inches of annual rainfall but it does actually snow sometimes along the Strip in winter.

3) Phoenix, Arizona - 85%

Phoenix ties Las Vegas for 3rd place at 85%. With 1.5 million residents and 4.5 million people living in the greater Phoenix area this is the largest city on the list. Average annual rainfall in Phoenix is 8.3 inches.

3) Tucson, Arizona - 85%

Tucson ties Phoenix and Las Vegas for 3rd place. Tucson is located over 100 miles south of Phoenix and averages 11.8 inches of rainfall per year. Roughly 550,000 people live in the city and 1,000,000 people live in the greater Tuscon area.

6) El Paso, Texas - 84%

El Paso is in western Texas right across the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Roughly 600,000 people live in El Paso and 750,000 live in the greater area which receives 8.74 inches of annual rainfall. El Paso does get snowstorms totaling over one foot on occasion being at an elevation of 3,800 feet.

7) Reno, Nevada - 79%

Reno is not nearly as big a resort town as Las Vegas but is nicer in some ways for the 220,000 people who live in the city itself, and 310,000 who live in the greater area. Reno averages 7.25 inches of rain and also averages 22.9 inches of snowfall per year.

7) Fresno, California - 79%

Fresno ties Reno for 7th place and has a population of 500,000 and nearly 1,000,000 people live in the greater Fresno area which receives 11.23 inches of yearly rainfall.

9) Flagstaff, Arizona - 78%

Might be a surprise to some but Flagstaff ranks 9th in annual sunshine. Some 60,000 people live in the city and 130,000 people live in the greater area which gets 22.91 inches of annual rain and 100.3 inches of snow. Snowstorms are not unusual at all for Flagstaff, but then the sun usually shines the next day.

9) Sacramento, California - 78%

California's capital city ties Flagstaff for 9th place with 78% sunshine. About 470,000 people live in the city and 2.1 million live in the greater area. Sacramento receives 21.45 inches of annual rainfall and snowfall is very rare here.

11) Key West, Florida - 76%

Key West ranks 11th in sunshine and is the only city on the list located along a coast. Some 24,000 people call Key West home and the city is actually closer to Cuba than it is to Miami.

Key West gets 38.91 inches of annual rainfall which makes it the driest city in Florida. The temperature is unbelievably moderate in Key West with the record cold being just 41 degrees and record heat is just 97 degrees.

11) Pueblo, Colorado - 76%

Pueblo ties Key West at 76% sunshine. Just a little over 100,000 people call the city home and Pueblo receives an average of 14 inches of rain per year.

11) Albuquerque, New Mexico - 76%

Albuquerque ties both Key West and Pueblo at 76% sunshine for 11th place. Some 520,000 people live in the city and 850,000 live in the greater area. Albuquerque is located along the Rio Grande river well up from El Paso and receives 8-9 inches of rain per year. Albuquerque is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

14) Roswell, New Mexico - 74%

Guess aliens like sunshine or maybe they need solar power to get around as Roswell ranks 14th on the list with 74% sunshine. Some 50,000 humans call Roswell home but nobody is sure about the alien population. Roswell receives 13.34 annual inches of rain.

14) North Little Rock, Arkansas - 74%

North Little Rock ties Roswell with 74% sunshine. Some 60,000 people live in the city which gets 50.5 inches of annual rainfall. That is the most rainfall of any city on the list.

14) Midland-Odessa, Texas - 74%

The Midland-Odessa area ties both North Little Rock and Roswell with 74% sunshine. Roughly 260,000 people live in the combined cities which receives 14.96 inches of yearly rainfall.

Did you guess most of these best weather cities? Some are easy like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tuscon and El Paso but you really know your weather statistics if you knew Flagstaff, Pueblo and even Key West were on the list. And if you knew that Yuma, Arizona is the sunniest place on planet Earth you are a weather genius. 

As far as states go. Arizona leads the list with four sunshine cities, with California second at three, followed by Texas, New Mexico and Nevada tied with two cities each, and Florida, Arkansas and Colorado each having one sunniest city. If you thought a city from Hawaii would make the list Honolulu is the sunniest city in the Aloha State with 71% sunshine.

Sources: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/pctpos.txt

http://www.census.gov/

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/