Even before summer 2016 has officially begun, the nation faced a deadly heat wave. Temperatures hit triple digits across the Southwestern United States in late June, going as high as 120°F in parts of California. At least four deaths so far have been attributed to the heat.
According to a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016 is on pace to become the hottest year on record. Four of the last six years have ranked as the hottest on record.
While temperatures are increasing across the planet, places where the climate is already hot are now reporting scorching temperatures for much of the year. This is no different in the United States, where cities located in hotter climates report even hotter temperatures year-round. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from NOAA on U.S. cities that report the most days a year with exceptionally high temperatures.
Click here to see the 30 hottest cities in America.
The hottest cities in the country are located in states across the South, West and the Southwest. However, no state has more of the country’s hottest cities than Texas. Texas is the second largest and second most populous state, which largely explains its outsized presence on the list.
Just as much of the world seems to be suffering through record heat year after year, so do many of the hottest U.S. cities. 2015 was the hottest on record for five of the cities on the list with available data. For another six cities, 2015 was among the five hottest years on record. Though not every city had a record breaking year, for each of the hottest cities, the average temperature in 2015 was hotter than the mean annual temperature between 1981 and 2010.
While all of the cities on the list had an exceptionally high number of days where temperatures reached at least 90°F, temperatures in these areas are still subject to fluctuation in different parts of the year. Every city on the list has an average of at least one day a year where temperatures hit the freezing mark, and 24 of the hottest cities have at least 10 such days. In Bishop, California, a city with 91 days of at least 90°F, there are an average of 144 days of temperatures at 32°F or less.
To identify the hottest cities in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average number of days each year that temperatures of 90°F or higher are recorded in 254 U.S. cities. Figures came from NOAA’s “Comparative Climatic Data For the United States Through 2015.” Averages for each city were calculated over varying periods, depending on when the city began keeping records. Other averages, including record temperatures, monthly highs, precipitation data, and days of clear skies, were calculated from a 30 year period between 1981 and 2010 and also came from the NOAA report.
The are the hottest cities in the country.
30. Macon, GA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 85
> Record high: 108°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 92.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 91.4°F
With an average of 85 days of temperatures hitting 90°F and higher a year, Macon is the hottest city in Georgia and the 30th hottest in the country. The average temperature in Macon was 65.9°F last year, slightly higher than the city’s 64.5°F normal average temperature. Though it ranks among the hottest U.S. cities, Macon also has its share of cold days. Temperatures in the city hit the freezing mark in about 43 days in a given year.
29. Port Arthur, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 86
> Record high: 108°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 91.7°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 92.2°F
Temperatures hit at least 90°F on about 24% of days in Port Arthur. While many of the hottest U.S. cities are also among the driest, Port Arthur gets plenty of rain. On average, the city gets at least at least a hundredth of an inch of precipitation about 60.5 days each year, more days than in all but a handful of other U.S. cities.
28. Tampa, FL
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 86
> Record high: 99°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 90.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 90.2°F
With an average temperature of 76.2°F, 2015 was the hottest year in Tampa’s history. The Gulf coast city averages 86 days a year in which temperatures hit at least 90°F, more than in the vast majority of other U.S. cities. Most of the hottest cities in the country average at least 10 days of freezing temperatures a year. Tampa is one of just three of the hottest cities where temperatures hit the freezing mark on just two days or fewer each year.
27. Baton Rouge, LA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 89
> Record high: 105°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 92.2°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 92.5°F
With an average temperature of 70°F, last year was the hottest in Baton Rouge since record keeping began 83 years ago. The city averages 89 days a year of temperatures hitting at least 90°F, more than the vast majority of U.S. cities. Unlike some of the hottest cities where rainfall is scarce, Baton Rouge gets higher than average precipitation. Precipitation in the city exceeds a hundredth of an inch on nearly 61 days a year on average, one of the highest rates in the country.
26. Tallahassee, FL
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 91
> Record high: 105°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 92.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 91.5°F
With an average of 91 days of temperatures of at least 90°F a year since record keeping began, Tallahassee is the third hottest city in Florida and one of the hottest in the United States. While some of the hottest cities in the country almost never get meaningful precipitation, rainfall is relatively common in Tallahassee. The city has an average of 59 days a year with precipitation of at least a hundredth of an inch, more than in all but a dozen other U.S. cities.
25. Bishop, CA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 91
> Record high: 110°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 98.4°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 96.3°F
Not far from Death Valley, Bishop is one of the hottest and driest cities in the country. Precipitation exceeds a hundredth of an inch on only 5.2 days a year on average, fewer than in every other U.S. city other than Barrow, Alaska. Unlike Barrow, however, which averages less than one day a year of temperatures hitting 70°F, temperatures reach at least 90°F on 91 days each year.
24. Shreveport, LA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 92
> Record high: 109°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 92.3°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 93.4°F
Shreveport is the hottest city in Louisiana and one of the hottest cities in the United States. The city averages 92 days in a year where temperatures hit 90°F or higher. The average temperature last year in the Northern Louisiana city was nearly 68°F, the fifth hottest in the city since record keeping began 76 years ago.
23. Orlando, FL
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 97
> Record high: 101°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 91.8°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 91.6°F
The temperature in Orlando, Florida hits or exceeds 90°F on 97 days in a given year. As was the case with many Florida cities, including Key West, Miami, and Tampa, the average temperature in Orlando in 2015 was the highest on record, reaching 75.6°F. Perhaps not surprisingly, in a given year, temperatures in hit freezing only once in Orlando.
22. Roswell, NM
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 98
> Record high: 114°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 93.7°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 91.7°F
In Roswell, there are an average of 98 days a year when temperatures exceed 90°F. Over the course of a given year, the average high temperature in the city is just over 75°F. The average high in July, however, is nearly 94°F.
Though it is one of the hottest cities in the country, Roswell also has its share of cold weather. There are an average of 88 days of freezing temperatures each year the New Mexico city, the second most of any of the hottest U.S. cities.
21. Fort Myers, FL
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 99
> Record high: 103°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 91.9°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 91.8°F
Fort Myers is one of the hottest cities in the country and the hottest in Florida. Temperatures exceed 90°F an average of 99 days each year and typically hit freezing levels only once. The average temperature in the Gulf coast city was 77°F last year. According to NOAA, 2015 was the hottest year in Fort Myers since city-level record keeping began 90 years ago.
20. Abilene, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 102
> Record high: 110°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 94.2°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 94.0°F
Abilene is one of only 20 U.S. cities to have an average of more than 100 days with temperatures exceeding 90°F each year. Summer in the city is especially hot. The average high temperature in July and August is about 94°F, 18th highest for any U.S. city in those months.
While the majority of the hottest U.S. cities average 20 days or fewer of freezing temperatures each year, Abilene averages 51 such days, more than in all but six of the hottest cities.
19. Houston, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 103
> Record high: 109°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 91.5°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 92.3°F
Houston is not only one of the largest cities in the country, but it is also one of the hottest. The city is one of only 20 where temperatures exceed 90°F on 100 days or more in a given year. Houston is not as dry as many of the hottest cities, however. On average, the city experiences rain on 103 days each year, more than in all but seven of the hottest cities in the United States.
18. Dallas, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 103
> Record high: 112°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 95.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 96.1°F
Just like Houston, its neighbor 250 miles to the south, there are an average of 103 days where temperatures exceed 90°F in Dallas each year. Temperatures in Dallas varied more than they do in Houston, however. Average highs in July and August are about 4°F higher in Dallas than than in Houston. Additionally, there are an average of 31 days a year where temperatures in Dallas hit freezing compared to only 16 such days in Houston.
17. Redding, CA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 104
> Record high: 118°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 94.9°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 94.1°F
Redding is the 17th hottest city in the country and the third hottest city in California. Unlike Fresno and Bakersfield, the only two California cities hotter than Redding, Redding is located in Northern California, only about 120 miles from the Oregon state line.
On July 20, 1988, temperatures reached 118°F in Redding, the second highest temperature ever recorded in any U.S. city.
16. Midland-Odessa, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 106
> Record high: 116°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 94.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 93.6°F
Midland-Odessa ranks among the hottest U.S. cities. However, 2015 was hardly its hottest year. Midland’s average temperature of 65.2°F last year trails 13 other years since record keeping began in the city 85 years ago. The hottest day on record in Midland-Odessa was June 27, 1994, when temperatures reached 116°F.
Many of the hottest U.S. cities are relatively dry places, and Midland-Odessa is no exception. On average, there are only about 15 days in a given year where the amount of precipitation exceeds a hundredth of an inch.
15. Wichita Falls, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 107
> Record high: 117°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 96.9°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 96.6°F
The average temperature in Wichita Falls in 2015 was only 64.3°F, not especially hot relative to average annual temperatures over the city’s 92 years of record keeping. Still, average highs in July and August in Wichita Falls are nearly 97°F — among the 10 hottest in cities for those months. Wichita Falls has an average of 107 days a year where temperatures exceed 90°F, far more than the vast majority of U.S. cities.
14. El Paso, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 108
> Record high: 114°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 94.7°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 92.4°F
Situated in West Texas along the border of both Mexico and New Mexico, El Paso is one of the hottest cities in the country. It is one of the driest, too. The city averages less than 10 days a year of precipitation that amounts to more than a hundredth of an inch. This past year, the average temperature in El Paso was 66.9°F, making 2015 the third hottest in the city’s last 68 years.
13. Fresno, CA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 108
> Record high: 113°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 98.4°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 97.1°F
Fresno averages 108 days a year when temperatures hit or exceed 90°F, more than in all but a dozen other U.S. cities. The average temperature in the city in 2015 was 66.6°F, the city’s fourth highest average temperature in the last 68 years. Average summer temperatures in Fresno are the fourth highest in the country, with an average high of 98.4°F in July and 97.1°F in August.
12. Victoria, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 110
> Record high: 111°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 93.8°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 95.0°F
In addition to having more days with temperatures above 90°F than most U.S. cities, Victoria, Texas also has a relatively hot average temperature year round. The city is one of only 15 in the country where the average daily temperature exceeds 70°F. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Victoria was on September 6, 2000, when thermometers hit 111°F.
11. Bakersfield, CA
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 110
> Record high: 115°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 97.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 95.8°F
With an average of 110 days each year of temperatures hitting 90°F or more, Bakersfield is the hottest city in California and one of the hottest in the country. The city is also one of the driest. The city averages less than seven days a year with rainfall totalling more than a hundredth of an inch. Bishop, California and Barrow, Alaska are the only two U.S. cities with fewer days of any substantial precipitation.
10. Waco, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 111
> Record high: 112°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 96.3°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 96.8°F
The average daily high in Waco, which had more hot days in 2015 than only a handful of other U.S cities, was 77.8°F — one of the highest average temperatures of any U.S. city. The summer months in Waco are especially hot. The average highs are 96.3°F in July and 96.8°F in August, respectively, the ninth and seventh highest such temperatures of any city in the country.
9. Corpus Christi, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 112
> Record high: 109°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 93.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 94.4°F
In a given year, the average daily high in Corpus Christi is 81.6°F, the 10th highest average of any city in the country. The temperature is frequently even higher in the city. On average, temperatures exceed 90°F on 112 days each year. Though the city ranks as one of the hottest in the country, 2015 was not an especially hot year for Corpus Christi. The average temperature last year of 72.4°F is just about average for the city based on 68 years of record keeping.
8. San Angelo, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 114
> Record high: 111°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 95.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 94.7°F
San Angelo is one of 15 Texas cities to rank among the 30 hottest in the country. Year over year, the city averages 114 days where thermometers hit at least 90°F. Despite the heat for a relatively large part of the year, temperatures in San Angelo also get below freezing more often than most of the hottest cities. Temperatures hit 32°F or below in the city an average of 51 days a year, more than in only 5 of the hottest cities.
7. Austin, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 114
> Record high: 112°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 95.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 97.0°F
Though Austin has the same number of days with temperatures reaching at least 90°F in a given year as San Angelo, Austin has a slightly higher record temperature and generally hotter summers than its neighbor to the northwest. Austin also gets more precipitation than San Angelo. Each year, the city has an average of about 34 days with more than a hundredth of an inch of precipitation. In San Angelo, there are only about 21 days with such precipitation.
24/7 Wall St.6. San Antonio, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 116
> Record high: 111°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 95.0°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 97.5°F
With an average temperature of 70.7°F, last year was the ninth warmest on record for San Antonio. Temperatures in the city hit 90°F in nearly a third of all days a year on average. San Antonio has some of the hottest summers of any city in the country. The average high in August is 97.5°F, hotter than in any other U.S. city with the exception of Las Vegas and Phoenix.
5. Brownsville, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 124
> Record high: 106°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 93.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 94.4°F
In Brownsville. temperatures reach at least 90°F more than once every three days, on average. While the city is among the hottest in the country, 2015 was not an especially hot year in Brownsville. With an average temperature over the course of the year of 74.6°F, 2015 was the 26th hottest year in the city since record keeping began 84 years ago.
4. Del Rio, TX
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 134
> Record high: 112°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 96.6°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 97.1°F
Del Rio the is the hottest city in Texas and the fourth hottest in the United States. Exceptionally hot summers certainly contribute to the unusually high number of days when temperatures exceed 90°F annually. Only three U.S. cities have a hotter average high in August than Del Rio. The city, situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, has an average high of 97.1°F in August.
3. Las Vegas, NV
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 135
> Record high: 117°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 104.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 101.4°F
With an average temperature of 71.9°F, 2015 was the second hottest year in Las Vegas since record keeping began 67 years ago. Temperatures hit at least 90°F an average of 135 days a year, the third most of any city in the country. In addition to being hot, Las Vegas is also sunny and dry. There are 210 days of clear skies in a given year, the second most of any U.S. city. Las Vegas also has only 26 days a year of any precipitation, the least of any U.S. city.
2. Tucson, AZ
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 146
> Record high: 117°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 99.4°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 96.8°F
Temperatures hit 90°F or higher in Tucson two out of every five days each year. Last year’s average temperature of 71.6°F was the second hottest on record in the city. The summer months can be especially hot in the Arizona city, with an average high of 99.4°F in July. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city, however, was in June,1990, when temperatures hit 117°F, tied as the third highest temperature ever recorded in a U.S. city.
1. Phoenix, AZ
> Avg. number of 90°F+ days: 169
> Record high: 122°F
> Avg. daily high in July: 106.1°F
> Avg. daily high in August: 104.4°F
With 169 days of temperatures at or above 90°F, Phoenix is by far the hottest city in the country. Average high temperatures in July and August are 106.1°F and 104.4°F, respectively, each the hottest in the country. The city also holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in a U.S. city. On June 26, 1990, temperatures hit 122°F in Phoenix. The city is also relatively dry. There are only eight days a year on average where the city gets more than a hundredth of an inch of precipitation.
Find a Qualified Financial Advisor (Sponsor)
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
