Data / Rankings / Heating degree days / US states

US states by heating degree days

North Dakota had the highest heating degree days of 48 states in 2018, at 9,658 degree days (base 65°F). Florida had the lowest, at 593 degree days (base 65°F). The median was 5,351 degree days (base 65°F) and the figure for the United States was 4,292 degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest9,658North Dakota
Lowest593Florida
Median5,35148 states
United States4,292History

All states, 2018

North Dakota: 9,658 degree days (base 65°F)North Dakota9,658Minnesota: 9,008 degree days (base 65°F)Minnesota9,008Montana: 8,739 degree days (base 65°F)Montana8,739South Dakota: 8,202 degree days (base 65°F)South Dakota8,202Wyoming: 8,177 degree days (base 65°F)Wyoming8,177Vermont: 8,104 degree days (base 65°F)Vermont8,104Maine: 7,835 degree days (base 65°F)Maine7,835Wisconsin: 7,797 degree days (base 65°F)Wisconsin7,797New Hampshire: 7,426 degree days (base 65°F)New Hampshire7,426Iowa: 7,259 degree days (base 65°F)Iowa7,259Colorado: 6,872 degree days (base 65°F)Colorado6,872Michigan: 6,854 degree days (base 65°F)Michigan6,854Nebraska: 6,816 degree days (base 65°F)Nebraska6,816Utah: 6,725 degree days (base 65°F)Utah6,725Idaho: 6,646 degree days (base 65°F)Idaho6,646Illinois: 6,427 degree days (base 65°F)Illinois6,427Massachusetts: 6,061 degree days (base 65°F)Massachusetts6,061New York: 6,038 degree days (base 65°F)New York6,038Indiana: 5,801 degree days (base 65°F)Indiana5,801Ohio: 5,765 degree days (base 65°F)Ohio5,765Pennsylvania: 5,760 degree days (base 65°F)Pennsylvania5,760Connecticut: 5,739 degree days (base 65°F)Connecticut5,739Rhode Island: 5,639 degree days (base 65°F)Rhode Island5,639Washington: 5,382 degree days (base 65°F)Washington5,382Missouri: 5,320 degree days (base 65°F)Missouri5,320Kansas: 5,239 degree days (base 65°F)Kansas5,239New Jersey: 5,192 degree days (base 65°F)New Jersey5,192West Virginia: 5,109 degree days (base 65°F)West Virginia5,109Oregon: 5,057 degree days (base 65°F)Oregon5,057Maryland: 4,647 degree days (base 65°F)Maryland4,647Delaware: 4,472 degree days (base 65°F)Delaware4,472Kentucky: 4,466 degree days (base 65°F)Kentucky4,466Virginia: 4,322 degree days (base 65°F)Virginia4,322New Mexico: 4,264 degree days (base 65°F)New Mexico4,264Tennessee: 3,844 degree days (base 65°F)Tennessee3,844Oklahoma: 3,827 degree days (base 65°F)Oklahoma3,827Arkansas: 3,623 degree days (base 65°F)Arkansas3,623North Carolina: 3,405 degree days (base 65°F)North Carolina3,405Nevada: 3,290 degree days (base 65°F)Nevada3,290Georgia: 2,798 degree days (base 65°F)Georgia2,798Alabama: 2,694 degree days (base 65°F)Alabama2,694South Carolina: 2,612 degree days (base 65°F)South Carolina2,612California: 2,546 degree days (base 65°F)California2,546Mississippi: 2,469 degree days (base 65°F)Mississippi2,469Texas: 1,984 degree days (base 65°F)Texas1,984Arizona: 1,733 degree days (base 65°F)Arizona1,733Louisiana: 1,681 degree days (base 65°F)Louisiana1,681Florida: 593 degree days (base 65°F)Florida593
degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2018
degree days (base 65°F)		Change on 2017
1North Dakota9,658+9.4%
2Minnesota9,008+10.6%
3Montana8,739+3.4%
4South Dakota8,202+13.6%
5Wyoming8,177+3.6%
6Vermont8,104+4.9%
7Maine7,835+4.5%
8Wisconsin7,797+9.9%
9New Hampshire7,426+4.6%
10Iowa7,259+16.6%
11Colorado6,872+6.1%
12Michigan6,854+10.1%
13Nebraska6,816+17.4%
14Utah6,725+1.3%
15Idaho6,646-4.9%
16Illinois6,427+15.9%
17Massachusetts6,061+4.6%
18New York6,038+7.7%
19Indiana5,801+16.3%
20Ohio5,765+13.7%
21Pennsylvania5,760+9.7%
22Connecticut5,739+5.5%
23Rhode Island5,639+3.9%
24Washington5,382-7.1%
25Missouri5,320+24%
26Kansas5,239+22.9%
27New Jersey5,192+8.7%
28West Virginia5,109+13.6%
29Oregon5,057-5.8%
30Maryland4,647+13.2%
31Delaware4,472+10.9%
32Kentucky4,466+17.5%
33Virginia4,322+14.1%
34New Mexico4,264+12.8%
35Tennessee3,844+21.4%
36Oklahoma3,827+31%
37Arkansas3,623+31.2%
38North Carolina3,405+17.6%
39Nevada3,290+6.1%
40Georgia2,798+23.5%
41Alabama2,694+26.5%
42South Carolina2,612+25%
43California2,546+4%
44Mississippi2,469+35.8%
45Texas1,984+48.4%
46Arizona1,733+17.7%
47Louisiana1,681+44.2%
48Florida593+31.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Sum over January to December of the degrees by which the daily mean temperature falls below 65°F, a measure of heating 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 heating 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/32/hdd/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 heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide (US states by heating degree days, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide, US states by heating degree days, 2018. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. US states by heating degree days, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide, US states by heating degree days, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_us_states_by_heating_2018,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide: US states by heating degree days, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/statewide/time-series/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating 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/32/hdd/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 heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide: US states by heating degree days, 2018
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/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December heating 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/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 US states by heating degree days using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"heating_degree_days_annual","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=heating_degree_days_annual&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest heating degree days?

North Dakota, with 9,658 degree days (base 65°F) in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which state has the lowest heating degree days?

Florida, with 593 degree days (base 65°F) in 2018.

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

US states: more rankings