How much cooler each 1,000 feet of elevation is: PlainClimate analysis of NOAA data, published October 8, 2026
Across 7,005 NOAA stations in the contiguous United States, each 1,000 feet of elevation goes with an annual mean 1.3°F lower at the same latitude, and each degree of latitude northward with 1.4°F lower at the same elevation; the two together account for 87% of the differences between stations.
What the numbers mean
Climbing 1,000 feet lowers the annual mean about as much as moving 64 miles north. That is why mountain towns run far colder than lowland cities at the same latitude, and why a station a few miles away but a few hundred feet higher can show a later frost.
How warm is each elevation band?
Stations grouped by elevation. Higher bands sit farther north on average too, so part of their chill is latitude; the regression above separates the two.
| Elevation | Stations | Annual mean | Mean latitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 ft | 1,738 | 61.2°F | 35.7°N |
| 500-1,000 ft | 1,742 | 53.1°F | 39.7°N |
| 1,000-2,000 ft | 1,413 | 50.8°F | 40.9°N |
| 2,000-4,000 ft | 941 | 51.9°F | 40.7°N |
| 4,000-6,000 ft | 769 | 49.9°F | 40.0°N |
| 6,000 ft and higher | 402 | 44.0°F | 38.8°N |
How this was measured
An ordinary least-squares regression of each station's 1991-2020 normal annual mean temperature on its latitude and its elevation, for every station PlainClimate covers between 24°N and 50°N and 66°W and 125°W. The coefficient of elevation is the change per 1,000 feet with latitude held equal.
What it cannot tell you
The rest of the differences comes from what the two variables leave out: distance from the ocean, the side of a mountain range, valleys that trap cold air. A coastal and an inland station at the same latitude and elevation can differ by several degrees.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals and station metadata.