Hottest States in the U.S.
All 50 states ranked by NOAA 1991–2020 mean annual temperature, statewide averages across every reporting city we track.
Data updated July 2026
Florida is the hottest U.S. state, at 72.6°F mean annual temperature (NOAA 1991–2020 normals).
Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana top the ranking at 72.6°F, 72.4°F, 67.3°F respectively, statewide averages across each state's NOAA-tracked station-mapped locations, so a state's hottest location record can run far hotter than its own average. All 50 states are ranked below from the same 30-year normals window.
The hottest U.S. states, the verdict
Florida is the hottest U.S. state by annual mean temperature at 73°F, a statewide average across its 165 tracked station-mapped locations.
- 73°F
- hottest state average - Florida
- 50
- states ranked
- 1991–2020
- NOAA 30-year normals window
Statewide averages smooth out local variation, a state's hottest city can run far hotter than its own average.
The bar to make the top-12 hottest states
Where the #12 statewide mean sits among all 50 state averages
60°F List threshold 59.8°F is the coolest statewide mean that still makes the top 12 (50 states)
- 30°F–35°F: 1 U.S. states (2%). Below this entry.
- 35°F–40°F: 0 U.S. states (0%). Below this entry.
- 40°F–45°F: 8 U.S. states (16%). Below this entry.
- 45°F–50°F: 10 U.S. states (20%). Below this entry.
- 50°F–55°F: 12 U.S. states (24%). Below this entry.
- 55°F–60°F: 8 U.S. states (16%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60°F–65°F: 7 U.S. states (14%). Above this entry.
- 65°F–70°F: 2 U.S. states (4%). Above this entry.
- 70°F–75°F: 2 U.S. states (4%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 · 1991–2020
All 50 states, hottest to coldest
| # | State | Avg Temp | Avg Precip | Cities Tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida (FL) | 73°F (23°C) | 55.2" | 165 |
| 2 | Hawaii (HI) | 72°F (22°C) | 48.5" | 49 |
| 3 | Louisiana (LA) | 67°F (20°C) | 60.3" | 91 |
| 4 | Texas (TX) | 66°F (19°C) | 31.1" | 449 |
| 5 | Mississippi (MS) | 64°F (18°C) | 59.7" | 91 |
| 6 | Georgia (GA) | 63°F (17°C) | 52.0" | 122 |
| 7 | Alabama (AL) | 63°F (17°C) | 57.9" | 100 |
| 8 | South Carolina (SC) | 63°F (17°C) | 49.8" | 100 |
| 9 | Arizona (AZ) | 62°F (17°C) | 12.4" | 169 |
| 10 | Arkansas (AR) | 61°F (16°C) | 52.2" | 110 |
| 11 | Oklahoma (OK) | 60°F (16°C) | 35.7" | 159 |
| 12 | California (CA) | 60°F (15°C) | 21.6" | 363 |
| 13 | North Carolina (NC) | 59°F (15°C) | 52.2" | 178 |
| 14 | Tennessee (TN) | 58°F (14°C) | 56.0" | 146 |
| 15 | Delaware (DE) | 56°F (13°C) | 46.8" | 7 |
| 16 | Kentucky (KY) | 56°F (13°C) | 50.6" | 95 |
| 17 | Virginia (VA) | 56°F (13°C) | 46.0" | 119 |
| 18 | Maryland (MD) | 56°F (13°C) | 45.5" | 42 |
| 19 | Missouri (MO) | 55°F (13°C) | 43.9" | 164 |
| 20 | Kansas (KS) | 55°F (13°C) | 31.2" | 168 |
| 21 | New Mexico (NM) | 54°F (12°C) | 13.8" | 167 |
| 22 | New Jersey (NJ) | 54°F (12°C) | 47.9" | 45 |
| 23 | Indiana (IN) | 52°F (11°C) | 43.7" | 116 |
| 24 | Nevada (NV) | 52°F (11°C) | 8.9" | 115 |
| 25 | West Virginia (WV) | 52°F (11°C) | 47.6" | 99 |
| 26 | Illinois (IL) | 52°F (11°C) | 40.7" | 163 |
| 27 | Ohio (OH) | 52°F (11°C) | 41.1" | 128 |
| 28 | Rhode Island (RI) | 51°F (11°C) | 48.7" | 9 |
| 29 | Oregon (OR) | 51°F (10°C) | 37.6" | 180 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 50°F (10°C) | 45.2" | 157 |
| 31 | Connecticut (CT) | 50°F (10°C) | 48.6" | 23 |
| 32 | Washington (WA) | 50°F (10°C) | 40.9" | 149 |
| 33 | Nebraska (NE) | 50°F (10°C) | 25.0" | 171 |
| 34 | Utah (UT) | 49°F (10°C) | 13.9" | 170 |
| 35 | Massachusetts (MA) | 49°F (10°C) | 48.2" | 68 |
| 36 | Iowa (IA) | 48°F (9°C) | 35.9" | 143 |
| 37 | New York (NY) | 48°F (9°C) | 43.7" | 173 |
| 38 | Colorado (CO) | 46°F (8°C) | 15.9" | 214 |
| 39 | Idaho (ID) | 46°F (8°C) | 18.0" | 139 |
| 40 | South Dakota (SD) | 46°F (8°C) | 21.8" | 149 |
| 41 | Michigan (MI) | 46°F (8°C) | 34.2" | 201 |
| 42 | New Hampshire (NH) | 45°F (7°C) | 46.6" | 52 |
| 43 | Wisconsin (WI) | 45°F (7°C) | 34.6" | 200 |
| 44 | Vermont (VT) | 44°F (6°C) | 43.7" | 41 |
| 45 | Montana (MT) | 43°F (6°C) | 15.9" | 215 |
| 46 | Wyoming (WY) | 43°F (6°C) | 14.0" | 144 |
| 47 | Maine (ME) | 43°F (6°C) | 46.4" | 79 |
| 48 | Minnesota (MN) | 42°F (6°C) | 30.0" | 172 |
| 49 | North Dakota (ND) | 41°F (5°C) | 19.2" | 119 |
| 50 | Alaska (AK) | 34°F (1°C) | 47.6" | 172 |
How this ranking is built
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), each state's average temperature is derived from the 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals for every station-mapped location we track within that state, published in May 2021. We average across all tracked location records per state and rank from hottest to coldest. A large state with both desert and coastal stations can show a wide internal range even with a moderate statewide average; open any state's page for its location-by-location breakdown. The full derivation is documented in our methodology.
Caveats
A statewide average reflects only the cities in our database with a complete NOAA normal, not the state's entire land area, coverage is denser in populated regions than in remote rural areas. These normals end in 2020 and do not capture any warming trend since then. For a specific city's own numbers, humidity, and seasonal detail, open its city page.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
What a state average hides
A statewide number is a starting point, not the whole picture.
- Open a state page to see its own hottest and coldest cities, not just the average. Browse by state
- Heat plus humidity drives comfort, check a city's comfort score, not just its temperature. Humidity & comfort
- Looking for the opposite? See the coldest U.S. states. Coldest states
NOAA 1991–2020 normals are typical-year averages, not forecasts, and exclude post-2020 trends.
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). For informational purposes only.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hottest U.S. state by average temperature? ▼
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Every figure on PlainClimate is rendered directly from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.