US states by cooling degree days

Florida had the highest cooling degree days of 48 states in 2016, at 3,845 degree days (base 65°F). Washington had the lowest, at 174 degree days (base 65°F). The median was 1,053 degree days (base 65°F) and the figure for the United States was 1,549 degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest3,845Florida

Lowest174Washington

Median1,05348 states

United States1,549History

Map of states, 2016

Under 440
440 to 780
780 to 1,100
1,100 to 1,400
1,400 to 2,200
2,200 and over
No data

degree days (base 65°F), 2016. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2016 degree days (base 65°F)	Change on 2015
1	Florida	3,845	-7.3%
2	Arizona	3,219	+2.9%
3	Texas	3,061	+5.3%
4	Louisiana	2,977	-0.2%
5	Mississippi	2,497	+4.9%
6	South Carolina	2,308	+7.6%
7	Alabama	2,303	+10.4%
8	Nevada	2,253	-1.7%
9	Oklahoma	2,175	+11%
10	Georgia	2,078	+12.2%
11	Arkansas	1,991	+7.3%
12	North Carolina	1,765	+7.8%
13	Tennessee	1,764	+20.8%
14	Kansas	1,635	+8%
15	Kentucky	1,498	+20.1%
16	Missouri	1,486	+16.9%
17	Delaware	1,358	+5.1%
18	Virginia	1,336	+10%
19	Maryland	1,329	+7%
20	Nebraska	1,112	+15.2%
21	Indiana	1,107	+26.4%
22	Illinois	1,089	+29.3%
23	New Mexico	1,067	+0.3%
24	New Jersey	1,059	+5.3%
25	West Virginia	1,046	+20.4%
26	Ohio	1,044	+31.8%
27	California	1,023	-11.6%
28	Iowa	942	+23.3%
29	Pennsylvania	914	+15.7%
30	New York	801	+9.3%
31	Connecticut	796	+11.3%
32	South Dakota	783	+13.5%
33	Michigan	771	+37.2%
34	Rhode Island	721	+12.7%
35	Massachusetts	666	+12.9%
36	Wisconsin	642	+36.9%
37	Utah	596	+6.6%
38	Minnesota	508	+9%
39	North Dakota	489	-2.4%
40	Idaho	455	-25.3%
41	New Hampshire	377	+13.6%
42	Colorado	358	+5.9%
43	Wyoming	311	+9.1%
44	Maine	293	+15.8%
45	Vermont	285	+8.4%
46	Oregon	222	-40.2%
47	Montana	180	-21.1%
48	Washington	174	-43.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Sum over January to December of the degrees by which the daily mean temperature exceeds 65°F, a measure of cooling demand. NOAA estimates monthly values from nClimDiv temperatures and weights areas by population (2010 Census).

NOAA publishes these for operational monitoring; they can differ from official degree day publications.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states 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 cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. 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/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. 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 cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide (US states by cooling degree days, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide, US states by cooling degree days, 2016. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. US states by cooling degree days, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide, US states by cooling degree days, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{noaa_us_states_by_cooling_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide: US states by cooling degree days, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. 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/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide: US states by cooling degree days, 2016
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/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. 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/statewide/time-series/8/cdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest cooling degree days?

Florida, with 3,845 degree days (base 65°F) in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which state has the lowest cooling degree days?

Washington, with 174 degree days (base 65°F) in 2016.

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 cooling degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Retrieved 2026-10-12.