Sunny Days per Year by US City: NOAA Rankings Compared

A sunny day is not defined by one universal rule in the sources available here. The city rankings are built on NOAA weather data, and the threshold that separates a sunny day from a cloudy one is not stated in them. Move.org’s NOAA-based ranking reports sunny days per year alongside a percentage, placing Yuma, AZ first with 242 sunny days a year (66.3%). A separate NOAA dataset covering more than 250 US cities reports percent of possible sunshine instead, with Fort Myers at 73%.

How do you measure sunny days?

Where the underlying data comes from

The city figures trace back to NOAA station data. Move.org’s ranking is described as NOAA-based, and a second NOAA dataset covering more than 250 US cities supplies the sunshine percentages.

The sunny-day threshold

The sunny-day threshold is the rule that turns raw observations into a count of sunny days. The sources provided do not state that rule, so no cutoff can be quoted from them. To check it, look for the methodology note published alongside any ranking you use.

Coverage limits for city comparisons

A reading applies to the station that recorded it, and the sources here do not list which station represents each city. One practical point follows:

• Expect large gaps between cities that differ sharply in climate, such as Yuma, AZ (242 days) and Cold Bay, Alaska (10 days), since these are the extremes of the same ranking.

Sunniest US cities: the desert Southwest

In Move.org’s NOAA-based ranking, reported by KTAR News on 2021-01-16, Yuma, AZ is the sunniest US city with 242 sunny days a year, or 66.3% of the calendar year. Phoenix is second with 211 sunny days (57.81%), and Tucson is third with 193 (52.88%). All three cities are in the desert Southwest, and they hold the top three places in the ranking.

The percentages follow from the day counts. Dividing each count by 365 gives the listed share: 242 ÷ 365 is about 66.3%, 211 ÷ 365 about 57.81%, and 193 ÷ 365 about 52.88%. Because every share uses the same 365-day denominator, the percentages simply restate the day counts.

The gap between first and third place is 49 sunny days, or about 13 percentage points. Yuma leads Phoenix by 31 days and Phoenix leads Tucson by 18.

The source reports counts and percentages only. It does not explain why these cities score high, and it does not state the exact years covered by the NOAA data. Any explanation tied to the desert climate should be checked against the underlying NOAA records before it is cited.

Sunny days vs percent of possible sunshine

Two measures are used to rank US cities by sunshine, and they do not measure the same thing. A sunny day count gives the number of days per year that a source classes as sunny, sometimes with that number as a share of all days. A percent of possible sunshine compares the sunshine hours a station actually recorded with the daylight hours that could have been sunny. A city’s rank therefore depends on which measure a source uses.

How percent of possible sunshine is calculated

• Numerator: sunshine hours actually recorded.
• Denominator: possible daylight hours over the same period.
• Result: recorded sunshine hours / possible daylight hours × 100.

Day-share percentages versus sunshine-hour percentages

The Move.org ranking, based on NOAA data and reported by KTAR News, gives a day count and a day-share percentage:

The NOAA dataset covering more than 250 US cities uses percent of possible sunshine instead. In it, Tampa ranks 43rd at 67% and Orlando is at 65%. The sources provided do not give day counts for these two cities, so their positions cannot be checked against the day-share ranking.

Why the two metrics rank cities differently

• Day counts depend on a threshold. Whatever cutoff a source uses, every day above it counts as one day, whether it has a few hours of sun or a full day of sun.
• Hour-based percentages weight by duration. They measure how much of the available daylight was sunny, not how many days met a threshold.
• Possible daylight varies by location and season. Cities at different latitudes receive different amounts of daylight, which changes the denominator of the hours-based percentage.
• The datasets differ. The day-count ranking and the percent-of-sunshine ranking come from different publications and different data presentations, reported in 2021 and 2022.

Cold Bay, Alaska: the least sunny city in the ranking

In the NOAA-based ranking published by Move.org and reported by KTAR News on 2021-01-16, Cold Bay, Alaska has the fewest sunny days of any US city, with 10 sunny days a year, or 2.7% of the year. The same ranking puts Flagstaff, Arizona at 162 sunny days, or 44.38%. That is 152 more sunny days than Cold Bay.

The source gives the ranking results but does not break down the causes for each city, so the explanations below are general principles, not measurements for these two places.

• Latitude (general principle, not verified for Cold Bay): Cold Bay sits in Alaska, a high-latitude state. At high latitudes the sun is lower in the sky and days are shorter in winter, which reduces the number of hours available for sunshine to register.
• Cloud cover: Frequent cloud cover blocks direct sunlight on days that would otherwise be clear. Because a sunny-day count depends on how many days clear the threshold, persistent cloud has a direct effect on the total.

Is Florida really the Sunshine State?

The NOAA-based dataset reported here gives sunshine figures for only four Florida cities, so it cannot on its own settle whether Florida is the sunniest state. In a dataset covering more than 250 US cities, the state’s sunniest city is Fort Myers, at 73% of possible sunshine. The other Florida cities in the same dataset fall lower, and the spread is narrower than the nickname suggests. The measure is percent of possible sunshine, the share of the daylight hours in which the sun was actually visible, as reported by Spectrum News 13 on 2022-11-19.

The gap between the top and bottom of this set is 8 percentage points. Tampa’s 43rd place shows that a coastal metro can rank high in the national list without matching Fort Myers.

On inland Florida, the data gives only one figure. Orlando, the only inland city in the set, sits 8 points below Fort Myers and 2 points below Tampa. The source does not report other inland cities, so it cannot support a full interior-versus-coast comparison.

How to compare sunshine when choosing where to live

Sunshine comparisons go wrong when figures from different reports are placed in one ranking. The method below keeps each comparison consistent, using the figures in the fact sheet as examples.

Step 1: Build a shortlist before comparing details. Choose a small set of candidate cities based on your other criteria, such as climate goals or region. Pull sunshine figures only for those cities. Fewer cities make it easier to check each source.

Step 2: Use one data source for every city. The fact sheet contains two different sources, and their figures cannot be ranked together:

Step 3: Match the years and station coverage. The two reports were published in 2021 and 2022, and the fact sheet does not state which years each one covers. Before comparing, confirm that each city’s figures come from the same period and the same weather stations.

What else to weigh besides sun?

Sunshine counts are only one input. Daily livability also depends on housing costs, heat and humidity, and how easily you can reach transit and services. The sunniest city can still be a poor fit if its housing is unaffordable or its summers are hard to live through.

Housing prices

For US comparisons, use the sales records kept by each county assessor or recorder’s office. Compare like with like: single-family homes against single-family homes, and the same price range.

Heat, humidity and temperature extremes

Sun and heat are not the same factor. A city with many sunny days can still have long stretches of extreme heat, and sunshine totals do not show how hot the summer feels. When comparing cities, check:

• Typical summer high temperatures and how many days exceed 100°F (38°C), using NOAA normals for the nearest station
• Humidity, which raises perceived heat and affects comfort even when air temperature is moderate
• Winter lows and the frequency of freezing temperatures, which matter for home heating and infrastructure

Transit access and local services

Transit and services change daily routines more than climate does for many residents. Check:

• Whether the city has a bus or rail network that covers the neighborhoods you would consider
• Distance from home to a grocery store, clinic, hospital and public library
• Commute times by car and by transit at peak hours

Use the transit agency’s published route maps and schedules, and verify service on the exact streets where you plan to live.

Frequently asked questions

Which US city gets the most sunny days per year?

In the Move.org ranking based on NOAA data, Yuma, AZ leads with 242 sunny days a year (66.3%), followed by Phoenix at 211 days (57.81%) and Tucson at 193 days (52.88%). All three are in the desert Southwest.

Why can’t I compare a percentage from one ranking with a day count from another?

The two rankings use different metrics. The Move.org ranking counts sunny days, while the 250-plus-city NOAA dataset reports percent of possible sunshine. A figure such as Fort Myers at 73% therefore measures something different from Yuma’s 242 days, and the two cannot be placed on one scale.

How sunny is Florida compared with the rest of the list?

In the NOAA dataset, Fort Myers is Florida’s sunniest city at 73% of possible sunshine, just ahead of Key West at 71%. Tampa reaches 67% and ranks 43rd in the dataset, while Orlando records 65%.