PlainClimate

U.S. Climate Rankings

The country's driest station-mapped locations, ranked from the 6,352 records with precipitation in the NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals.

Data updated July 2026

Featured: Hottest locations → Coldest states → Hottest states → Sunniest states →
Warmest Coldest Wettest Driest Snowiest Most Comfortable Biggest Seasonal Swing

Driest locations, the verdict

The driest station-mapped U.S. locations top out near 2.4", concentrated in CA, AZ, NV - Brawley, CA sits at the top of the 6,352 locations measured for it.

2.4"
the driest reading - Brawley, CA
12
of the 25 displayed locations are in CA
6,352
station-mapped locations with precipitation measured
1991–2020
NOAA 30-year normals window

Rankings reflect 30-year climate normals, long-run typical conditions, not any single recent year.

Top 10 driest station-mapped U.S. locations

The 25 station-mapped U.S. locations with the least annual precipitation, including cutoff ties.

in
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 As of 1991–2020
What this showsBars show each location record's annual precipitation from the NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Brawley tops the list at 2.4".

The 25 station-mapped U.S. locations with the least annual precipitation, including cutoff ties. Full 25-row list below.

# Location Avg Temp Precip
1 Brawley (CA) 74°F (23°C) 2.4"
2 El Centro (CA) 74°F (24°C) 2.5"
3 Imperial (CA) 73°F (23°C) 2.8"
4 Yuma Proving Ground (AZ) 75°F (24°C) 3.5"
5 Blythe (CA) 74°F (24°C) 3.6"
6 Wendover (UT) 52°F (11°C) 3.6"
7 Trona (CA) 68°F (20°C) 3.6"
8 Tacna (AZ) 73°F (23°C) 3.8"
9 Twentynine Palms (CA) 70°F (21°C) 3.9"
10 Yuma (AZ) 73°F (23°C) 4.0"
11 Ehrenberg (AZ) 74°F (23°C) 4.0"
12 Hawthorne (NV) 57°F (14°C) 4.2"
13 Lake Havasu City (AZ) 74°F (23°C) 4.2"
14 Inyokern (CA) 65°F (18°C) 4.3"
15 Needles (CA) 76°F (25°C) 4.3"
16 Baker (CA) 70°F (21°C) 4.3"
17 Joshua Tree (CA) 66°F (19°C) 4.4"
18 Parker (AZ) 74°F (23°C) 4.6"
19 Quartzsite (AZ) 74°F (23°C) 4.6"
20 Yerington (NV) 54°F (12°C) 4.6"
21 Las Vegas (NV) 69°F (21°C) 4.8"
22 Tonopah (NV) 53°F (12°C) 4.8"
23 Bishop (CA) 57°F (14°C) 4.8"
24 Barstow (CA) 66°F (19°C) 5.0"
25 Pahrump (NV) 62°F (17°C) 5.0"

Reading these rankings

Climate extremes make headlines, but livability is a balance.

  • Chasing warmth? The warmest station-mapped locations cluster in Florida, Hawaii, and the desert Southwest, but check humidity and summer extremes too. Most comfortable
  • Avoiding snow and cold? Compare the driest and warmest lists against the snowiest before deciding. Driest locations
  • Want the full picture for a specific place? Open its location profile for monthly tables, frost dates, and degree days. Browse by state

NOAA normals describe the typical 1991–2020 year; they are not forecasts and do not capture post-2020 warming.

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). For informational purposes only.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which U.S. location record ranks #1 for "Driest"? ▼
Brawley, CA tops the driest ranking at 2.4", based on NOAA's 1991-2020 Climate Normals.
What other location rankings does PlainClimate publish? ▼
7 location rankings in total: Warmest, Coldest, Wettest, Driest, Snowiest, Most Comfortable, Biggest Seasonal Swing. Each measures a different NOAA-derived metric, so one record can rank very differently across them.

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.