Counties in Washington by average annual temperature
Benton County had the highest average annual temperature of 39 counties in 2020, at 54 °F. Pend Oreille County had the lowest, at 43.3 °F. The median was 49.2 °F and the figure for Washington was 48.1 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Map of counties, 2020
- Under 47
- 47 to 48
- 48 to 49
- 49 to 51
- 51 and over
All counties, 2020
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2020 | Change on 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benton County | 54 | +6.3% |
| 2 | Walla Walla County | 53.6 | +5.3% |
| 3 | Franklin County | 53.3 | +6.2% |
| 4 | Clark County | 52.7 | +2.1% |
| 5 | Kitsap County | 52.6 | +1.3% |
| 6 | Grant County | 52 | +5.3% |
| 7 | Island County | 51.4 | 0% |
| 7 | Thurston County | 51.4 | +1.6% |
| 9 | Pacific County | 51.2 | +1.8% |
| 9 | Wahkiakum County | 51.2 | +1.8% |
| 11 | San Juan County | 51 | -0.4% |
| 12 | Cowlitz County | 50.7 | +2% |
| 12 | Grays Harbor County | 50.7 | +1.2% |
| 14 | Adams County | 50.5 | +5% |
| 15 | Klickitat County | 50.1 | +5.3% |
| 15 | Whitman County | 50.1 | +4.4% |
| 17 | Mason County | 50 | +1.2% |
| 18 | Asotin County | 49.5 | +3.6% |
| 18 | Garfield County | 49.5 | +3.8% |
| 20 | Columbia County | 49.2 | +4.5% |
| 21 | Douglas County | 49 | +4.7% |
| 22 | King County | 48.7 | +1.7% |
| 23 | Clallam County | 48.4 | +1% |
| 24 | Spokane County | 48.3 | +4.3% |
| 25 | Lewis County | 48.1 | +1.9% |
| 26 | Pierce County | 47.9 | +1.7% |
| 26 | Yakima County | 47.9 | +4.6% |
| 28 | Lincoln County | 47.6 | +5.1% |
| 29 | Snohomish County | 47.1 | +1.5% |
| 30 | Skamania County | 46.8 | +2.6% |
| 31 | Jefferson County | 46.5 | +1.1% |
| 31 | Kittitas County | 46.5 | +3.8% |
| 31 | Skagit County | 46.5 | +0.6% |
| 34 | Stevens County | 45.9 | +3.4% |
| 35 | Whatcom County | 44.9 | +0.2% |
| 36 | Chelan County | 44.3 | +3.7% |
| 37 | Ferry County | 43.8 | +3.3% |
| 37 | Okanogan County | 43.8 | +3.5% |
| 39 | Pend Oreille County | 43.3 | +3.3% |
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
APA 7
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties (Counties in Washington by average annual temperature, 2020) [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 Washington by average annual temperature, 2020. 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/washington-counties?period=2020. 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 Washington by average annual temperature, 2020. 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/washington-counties?period=2020.
Harvard
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in Washington by average annual temperature, 2020 [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/washington-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_washington_by_2020,
author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties: Counties in Washington by average annual temperature, 2020}},
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/washington-counties?period=2020. 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 Washington by average annual temperature, 2020
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/washington-counties?period=2020
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/washington-counties?period=2020.
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 -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in Washington by average annual temperature using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"average_temperature_annual","level":"province","within":"Washington","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=average_temperature_annual&level=province&within=Washington&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest average annual temperature?
Benton County, with 54 °F in 2020, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?
Pend Oreille County, with 43.3 °F in 2020.
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 Washington: more rankings
- Expected annual loss from natural hazards (FEMA National Risk Index)
- Share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)
- Median Air Quality Index (US EPA)
- National Risk Index score (FEMA)
- GDP per capita, US dollars
- Real GDP growth
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Adult cigarette smoking rate, local model estimate