Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature

Dukes County had the highest average annual temperature of 14 counties in 2017, at 52.2 °F. Berkshire County had the lowest, at 46.5 °F. The median was 50.8 °F and the figure for Massachusetts was 49.6 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest52.2Dukes County
Median50.814 counties
Massachusetts49.6History

Map of counties, 2017

Barnstable County: 51.9 °FBerkshire County: 46.5 °FBristol County: 51.6 °FDukes County: 52.2 °FEssex County: 49.9 °FFranklin County: 48.1 °FHampden County: 49.2 °FHampshire County: 48.6 °FMiddlesex County: 50.4 °FNantucket County: 51.6 °FNorfolk County: 51.2 °FPlymouth County: 51.6 °FSuffolk County: 51.7 °FWorcester County: 49.1 °F
  • Under 49
  • 49 to 50
  • 50 to 52
  • 52 and over
°F, 2017. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2017

Dukes County: 52.2 °FDukes County52.2Barnstable County: 51.9 °FBarnstable County51.9Suffolk County: 51.7 °FSuffolk County51.7Bristol County: 51.6 °FBristol County51.6Nantucket County: 51.6 °FNantucket County51.6Plymouth County: 51.6 °FPlymouth County51.6Norfolk County: 51.2 °FNorfolk County51.2Middlesex County: 50.4 °FMiddlesex County50.4Essex County: 49.9 °FEssex County49.9Hampden County: 49.2 °FHampden County49.2Worcester County: 49.1 °FWorcester County49.1Hampshire County: 48.6 °FHampshire County48.6Franklin County: 48.1 °FFranklin County48.1Berkshire County: 46.5 °FBerkshire County46.5Dukes County: 52.2 °FDukes County52.2Barnstable County: 51.9 °FBarnstable County51.9Suffolk County: 51.7 °FSuffolk County51.7Bristol County: 51.6 °FBristol County51.6Nantucket County: 51.6 °FNantucket County51.6Plymouth County: 51.6 °FPlymouth County51.6Norfolk County: 51.2 °FNorfolk County51.2Middlesex County: 50.4 °FMiddlesex County50.4Essex County: 49.9 °FEssex County49.9Hampden County: 49.2 °FHampden County49.2Worcester County: 49.1 °FWorcester County49.1Hampshire County: 48.6 °FHampshire County48.6Franklin County: 48.1 °FFranklin County48.1Berkshire County: 46.5 °FBerkshire County46.5
°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
°F
Change on 2016
1Dukes County52.2-1.1%
2Barnstable County51.9-1.1%
3Suffolk County51.7-1.3%
4Bristol County51.6-1.7%
4Nantucket County51.6-1.7%
4Plymouth County51.6-1.7%
7Norfolk County51.2-1.3%
8Middlesex County50.4-1%
9Essex County49.9-1.6%
10Hampden County49.2-1.4%
11Worcester County49.1-1.2%
12Hampshire County48.6-1.6%
13Franklin County48.1-1.4%
14Berkshire County46.5-2.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Mean air temperature from January to December, in degrees Fahrenheit: the average of the 12 monthly mean temperatures. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, so a county with mountains and valleys has one value for very different local climates. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties (Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2017,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties: Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Massachusetts by average annual temperature using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Dukes County, with 52.2 °F in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Berkshire County, with 46.5 °F in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Average annual temperature: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings