US states by cooling degree days

Florida had the highest cooling degree days of 48 states in 2021, at 3,758 degree days (base 65°F). Washington had the lowest, at 278 degree days (base 65°F). The median was 1,025 degree days (base 65°F) and the figure for the United States was 1,474 degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest3,758Florida

Lowest278Washington

Median1,02548 states

United States1,474History

Map of states, 2021

Under 610
610 to 740
740 to 1,000
1,000 to 1,300
1,300 to 1,900
1,900 and over
No data

degree days (base 65°F), 2021. 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, 2021

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	2021 degree days (base 65°F)	Change on 2020
1	Florida	3,758	-7.7%
2	Arizona	3,152	-11.4%
3	Texas	2,816	-4.9%
4	Louisiana	2,703	-5.4%
5	Nevada	2,495	+0.3%
6	Mississippi	2,174	-3.9%
7	Oklahoma	1,954	+9.5%
8	Alabama	1,889	-4.9%
9	South Carolina	1,868	-4.5%
10	Arkansas	1,784	+11.2%
11	Georgia	1,658	-7.2%
12	Kansas	1,590	+14%
13	North Carolina	1,490	+1.8%
14	Tennessee	1,399	+0.6%
15	Missouri	1,378	+12.8%
16	Maryland	1,303	+4.2%
17	Kentucky	1,259	+4.2%
18	Delaware	1,254	-0.2%
19	Virginia	1,253	+4.1%
20	Nebraska	1,173	+7.3%
21	California	1,146	-5%
22	New Mexico	1,073	-14.9%
23	Illinois	1,063	+11.8%
24	Indiana	1,028	+11.9%
25	New Jersey	1,021	-0.4%
26	Iowa	977	+11.1%
27	Ohio	928	+5.9%
28	South Dakota	910	+14.5%
29	West Virginia	880	+0.8%
30	Pennsylvania	844	0%
31	Michigan	762	+9%
32	New York	746	-3%
33	Utah	739	+13.2%
34	Idaho	728	+49.5%
35	Rhode Island	708	-6.3%
36	Connecticut	706	-8.5%
37	North Dakota	697	+30.8%
38	Wisconsin	670	+10.7%
39	Massachusetts	667	-5%
40	Minnesota	651	+17.9%
41	Colorado	428	-5.3%
42	Wyoming	413	+16%
43	New Hampshire	381	-8.6%
44	Oregon	372	+47%
45	Montana	341	+68.8%
46	Maine	305	-2.2%
47	Vermont	298	-6.6%
48	Washington	278	+51.9%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{noaa_us_states_by_cooling_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cooling-degree-days/us-states?period=2021.
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 3,758 degree days (base 65°F) in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which state has the lowest cooling degree days?

Washington, with 278 degree days (base 65°F) in 2021.

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.