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Special Report

The Average December Temperature in America’s Biggest Cities

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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The Average December Temperature in America’s Biggest Cities

© rabbit75_ist / Getty Images

While every year there is speculation about where in the U.S. there might be a white Christmas, increasingly in recent years expectations have been tempered with the realization that global warming is slowly changing what we’d consider “normal.” Temperatures could hit 70 degrees in Alaska in winter, or it could snow in Hawaii. The Hawaii weather news shows how radically temperatures can vary in a single state, even in the same week.

Global warming may bring America a Christmas present, whether we want it or not. A number of cities expect record unusually warm weather. The temperature in Dallas is expected to hit 79 degrees on Christmas Day, only 1 degree lower than the record for that day in the city and 20 degrees higher than the high average temperature in December in the city of 59 degrees. (These are the U.S. cities with the most unusual weather this year.)

To find the average high and low December temperatures in large American cities, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Current Result’s Average Temperatures for Large US Cities in December. According to the site, which says it summarizes research and published data, the list was compiled using data from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information’s Climate Normals.

As a general rule, the high and low temperatures by state in December are what most people would expect. The southern tier of states tend to have the highest temperatures, while the northern states tend to have the lowest ones. The same patterns hold true with cities.

There are some interesting exceptions to the north-south pattern. The average high temperature in Seattle in December is 47, higher than in St. Louis, at 45 degrees. St. Louis is usually considered a southern city. Seattle is very far north, but the Pacific Ocean keeps it relatively warm compared to more inland places in the same latitude. 

The large differences in temperature between U.S. regions has triggered a relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, and the populations of states like Florida and Arizona have swelled. (These are the cities with the best weather.)

Click here for the the average December temperature in America’s biggest cities

Gian Lorenzo Ferretti Photography / E+ via Getty Images

51. Minneapolis, Minnesota
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 29°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 15°F

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50. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 36°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 23°F

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49. Buffalo, New York
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 37°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 26°F

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48. Detroit, Michigan
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 37°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 25°F

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47. Chicago, Illinois
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 38°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 25°F

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46. Rochester, New York
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 39°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 25°F

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45. Salt Lake City, Utah
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 39°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 25°F

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44. Cleveland, Ohio
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 40°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 28°F

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43. Indianapolis, Indiana
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 40°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 26°F

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42. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 41°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 27°F

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41. Hartford, Connecticut
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 41°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 25°F

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40. Boston, Massachusetts
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 42°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 29°F

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39. Columbus, Ohio
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 42°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 27°F

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38. Kansas City, Missouri
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 42°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 24°F

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37. Cincinnati, Ohio
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 43°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 28°F

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36. Providence, Rhode Island
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 43°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 28°F

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35. New York, New York
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 44°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 34°F

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34. St. Louis, Missouri
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 45°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 29°F

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33. Portland, Oregon
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 46°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 36°F

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32. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 46°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 31°F

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31. Denver, Colorado
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 46°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 18°F

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30. Seattle, Washington
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 47°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 37°F

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29. Louisville, Kentucky
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 47°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 32°F

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28. Baltimore, Maryland
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 48°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 30°F

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27. Washington, DC
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 49°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 35°F

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26. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 50°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 30°F

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25. Nashville, Tennessee
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 52°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 33°F

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24. Richmond, Virginia
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 52°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 32°F

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23. Memphis, Tennessee
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 53°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 36°F

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22. Virginia Beach, Virginia
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 55°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 38°F

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21. Charlotte, North Carolina
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 55°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 35°F

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20. Raleigh, North Carolina
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 55°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 34°F

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19. Sacramento, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 56°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 41°F

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18. Atlanta, Georgia
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 56°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 38°F

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17. Las Vegas, Nevada
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 57°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 40°F

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16. Birmingham, Alabama
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 57°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 38°F

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15. San Francisco, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 58°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 47°F

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14. Dallas, Texas
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 59°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 40°F

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13. San Jose, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 60°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 42°F

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12. Austin, Texas
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 64°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 43°F

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11. New Orleans, Louisiana
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 65°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 48°F

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10. San Antonio, Texas
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 65°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 42°F

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9. San Diego, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 66°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 50°F

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8. Houston, Texas
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 66°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 48°F

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7. Phoenix, Arizona
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 66°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 45°F

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6. Los Angeles, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 67°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 48°F

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5. Riverside, California
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 67°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 43°F

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4. Jacksonville, Florida
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 68°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 50°F

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3. Orlando, Florida
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 73°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 55°F

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2. Tampa, Florida
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 74°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 56°F

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1. Miami, Florida
> High average December temperature, 1991-2020: 78°F
> Low average December temperature, 1991-2020: 64°F

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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