NOAA rankings · updated August 2026

Sunniest States by NOAA Clear-Sky Frequency

States ranked by how often NOAA hourly observations report clear sky, 1991–2020 cloud-cover normals, not sunshine-hours, which NOAA's normals dataset does not publish.

#1 · Arizona: 71.3%; Leader benchmark
Top-12 cutoff: 51.8%; Cutoff benchmark
Ranked median: 43.8%; Cohort median
states ranked: 47; Cohort coverage

Compiled from official public sources by the publisher. · Updated August 2026

The clearest-sky U.S. states, the verdict

Arizona tops the clear-sky ranking at 71.3% clear. The top-12 cutoff is 51.8% (#12), and the clearest-to-cloudiest spread across 47 ranked states is 55.9 pp (median 43.8%).

71.3%
clear-sky frequency - Arizona: 51.8%
top-12 list threshold: 55.9 pp
clearest-to-cloudiest spread: 1991–2020
NOAA hourly cloud-cover normals window

Clear-sky frequency is measured from cloud-cover observations, a different (and rarer) basis than the sunshine-hours estimates most lists reuse.

12 clearest-sky U.S. states

Share of NOAA hourly observations reporting clear sky, 1991–2020 normals (%)

1

Arizona 71.3%

7 measured locations
2

New Mexico 64.5%

7 measured locations
3

Kansas 61.1%

9 measured locations
4

California 59.4%

27 measured locations
5

Nevada 59.0%

8 measured locations
6

Wyoming 58.6%

7 measured locations
7

Colorado 58.1%

11 measured locations
8

Nebraska 57.9%

9 measured locations
9

Idaho 55.0%

3 measured locations
10

South Dakota 54.3%

5 measured locations
11

North Dakota 52.1%

5 measured locations
12

Mississippi 51.8%

4 measured locations

What this showsLonger bars represent larger values; focus or hover a bar to compare its rank and share of the leader.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (hourly cloud-cover) · 1991–2020

The bar to make the top-12 clearest-sky states

Where the #12 clear-sky frequency sits among ranked states (2+ measured locations)

51.8% List threshold 51.8% clear is the lowest clear-sky share that still makes the top 12 (47 ranked states)

15.0%–20.0%: 2 ranked states (4%). Below this entry.
20.0%–25.0%: 1 ranked states (2%). Below this entry.
25.0%–30.0%: 1 ranked states (2%). Below this entry.
30.0%–35.0%: 4 ranked states (9%). Below this entry.
35.0%–40.0%: 11 ranked states (23%). Below this entry.
40.0%–45.0%: 7 ranked states (15%). Below this entry.
45.0%–50.0%: 8 ranked states (17%). Below this entry.
50.0%–55.0%: 4 ranked states (9%). This entry sits in this band.
55.0%–60.0%: 6 ranked states (13%). Above this entry.
60.0%–65.0%: 2 ranked states (4%). Above this entry.
65.0%–70.0%: 0 ranked states (0%). Above this entry.
70.0%–75.0%: 1 ranked states (2%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (hourly cloud-cover) · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more ranked states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

States ranked by clear-sky frequency

Showing 47 of 47

#	State	Clear-Sky %	Overcast %	Cities Measured
1	Arizona (AZ)	71.3%	6.1%	7
2	New Mexico (NM)	64.5%	9.5%	7
3	Kansas (KS)	61.1%	18.4%	9
4	California (CA)	59.4%	12.4%	27
5	Nevada (NV)	59.0%	12.1%	8
6	Wyoming (WY)	58.6%	16.7%	7
7	Colorado (CO)	58.1%	11.9%	11
8	Nebraska (NE)	57.9%	20.4%	9
9	Idaho (ID)	55.0%	22.3%	3
10	South Dakota (SD)	54.3%	24.2%	5
11	North Dakota (ND)	52.1%	24.9%	5
12	Mississippi (MS)	51.8%	21.2%	4
13	Arkansas (AR)	50.9%	21.9%	6
14	Oklahoma (OK)	49.5%	19.9%	5
15	Montana (MT)	49.3%	22.6%	10
16	Texas (TX)	48.1%	17.5%	24
17	Iowa (IA)	47.9%	27.8%	7
18	Georgia (GA)	47.8%	19.1%	11
19	Alabama (AL)	46.6%	21.3%	7
20	Oregon (OR)	46.3%	27.2%	11
21	Missouri (MO)	45.9%	25.4%	7
22	Minnesota (MN)	44.6%	29.2%	11
23	New Hampshire (NH)	44.6%	28.5%	2
24	Louisiana (LA)	43.8%	21.7%	6
25	New Jersey (NJ)	43.0%	24.9%	4
26	Utah (UT)	43.0%	17.3%	2
27	South Carolina (SC)	41.7%	19.8%	5
28	Maine (ME)	40.5%	33.6%	3
29	Kentucky (KY)	39.8%	29.6%	6
30	Washington (WA)	39.7%	29.0%	10
31	West Virginia (WV)	39.6%	29.1%	7
32	Wisconsin (WI)	39.4%	32.1%	6
33	Illinois (IL)	39.0%	29.5%	9
34	Pennsylvania (PA)	37.1%	31.3%	11
35	North Carolina (NC)	36.6%	22.1%	9
36	Connecticut (CT)	36.3%	28.5%	2
37	Indiana (IN)	36.1%	32.0%	5
38	Michigan (MI)	35.3%	33.4%	16
39	Virginia (VA)	35.0%	23.6%	9
40	Florida (FL)	34.3%	12.0%	16
41	Tennessee (TN)	33.1%	26.6%	5
42	Vermont (VT)	31.8%	36.4%	2
43	Ohio (OH)	30.7%	35.4%	10
44	New York (NY)	26.9%	34.4%	12
45	Alaska (AK)	20.0%	43.5%	26
46	Maryland (MD)	17.5%	25.1%	2
47	Hawaii (HI)	15.4%	12.9%	6

How this ranking is built, and what it is not

This ranking is built from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 1991–2020 hourly climate normals, which record how often observers logged clear, and overcast, sky conditions at each station. For every station-mapped location with hourly normals, we average its twelve monthly clear-sky frequencies into an annual figure, then average across each state's measured locations. It is a clear-sky observation frequency, not sunshine-hours - NOAA's normals dataset does not publish sunshine-hours, and lists claiming to rank "sunshine" usually reuse modeled estimates. The full derivation is documented in our methodology.

Coverage and exclusions

Only 394 of our 6,861 tracked station-mapped locations carry NOAA hourly cloud-cover normals, so per-state samples are small and shown in the table. States with fewer than two measured locations are not ranked: Rhode Island (1 city) and Massachusetts (1 city); Delaware has no hourly-normals city at all. A state average built this way reflects its measured stations, weighted toward where hourly stations exist, treat close rankings as ties.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

What clear-sky frequency tells you

Clear skies, warmth, and comfort are three different rankings.

A clear-sky state is not automatically a warm one, compare against the hottest states ranked by temperature. Hottest states
Sun plus mild temperatures is what most people mean by "good weather" - the comfort ranking blends both. Most comfortable
For a specific city's monthly clear-sky and humidity figures, open its city page (hourly-normals cities only). Browse by state

NOAA 1991–2020 hourly normals are typical-year observation frequencies, not forecasts, and exclude post-2020 trends.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the clearest-sky U.S. state?

Arizona has the highest clear-sky frequency of any ranked state, 71.3% of NOAA hourly observations across its 7 measured station-mapped locations, based on 1991-2020 cloud-cover normals (not sunshine-hours, which NOAA does not track in this dataset).

Why are some states missing from this ranking?

1 states have fewer than 2 NOAA-measured station-mapped locations with cloud-cover data, too few to honestly represent a whole state, so they are excluded rather than shown with an unreliable single-location figure.

This page draws directly on NOAA 1991-2020 hourly cloud-cover normals, no figure is typed in by an editor. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.