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 2021, at 8,373 degree days (base 65°F). Florida had the lowest, at 505 degree days (base 65°F). The median was 5,141 degree days (base 65°F) and the figure for the United States was 3,945 degree days (base 65°F). Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest8,373North Dakota
Lowest505Florida
Median5,14148 states
United States3,945History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 2,396 degree days (base 65°F)Arizona: 1,723 degree days (base 65°F)Arkansas: 3,254 degree days (base 65°F)California: 2,689 degree days (base 65°F)Colorado: 6,723 degree days (base 65°F)Connecticut: 5,410 degree days (base 65°F)Delaware: 4,164 degree days (base 65°F)Florida: 505 degree days (base 65°F)Georgia: 2,502 degree days (base 65°F)Idaho: 6,479 degree days (base 65°F)Illinois: 5,684 degree days (base 65°F)Indiana: 5,273 degree days (base 65°F)Iowa: 6,352 degree days (base 65°F)Kansas: 4,532 degree days (base 65°F)Kentucky: 4,165 degree days (base 65°F)Louisiana: 1,510 degree days (base 65°F)Maine: 6,959 degree days (base 65°F)Maryland: 4,159 degree days (base 65°F)Massachusetts: 5,515 degree days (base 65°F)Michigan: 6,079 degree days (base 65°F)Minnesota: 7,826 degree days (base 65°F)Mississippi: 2,162 degree days (base 65°F)Missouri: 4,645 degree days (base 65°F)Montana: 8,203 degree days (base 65°F)Nebraska: 5,825 degree days (base 65°F)Nevada: 3,284 degree days (base 65°F)New Hampshire: 6,788 degree days (base 65°F)New Jersey: 4,757 degree days (base 65°F)New Mexico: 4,187 degree days (base 65°F)New York: 5,517 degree days (base 65°F)North Carolina: 3,104 degree days (base 65°F)North Dakota: 8,373 degree days (base 65°F)Ohio: 5,213 degree days (base 65°F)Oklahoma: 3,346 degree days (base 65°F)Oregon: 5,068 degree days (base 65°F)Pennsylvania: 5,231 degree days (base 65°F)Rhode Island: 5,220 degree days (base 65°F)South Carolina: 2,373 degree days (base 65°F)South Dakota: 7,036 degree days (base 65°F)Tennessee: 3,503 degree days (base 65°F)Texas: 1,643 degree days (base 65°F)Utah: 6,551 degree days (base 65°F)Vermont: 7,426 degree days (base 65°F)Virginia: 3,927 degree days (base 65°F)Washington: 5,562 degree days (base 65°F)West Virginia: 4,759 degree days (base 65°F)Wisconsin: 6,934 degree days (base 65°F)Wyoming: 7,865 degree days (base 65°F)
  • Under 2,700
  • 2,700 to 4,200
  • 4,200 to 5,100
  • 5,100 to 5,600
  • 5,600 to 6,800
  • 6,800 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 heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

North Dakota: 8,373 degree days (base 65°F)North Dakota8,373Montana: 8,203 degree days (base 65°F)Montana8,203Wyoming: 7,865 degree days (base 65°F)Wyoming7,865Minnesota: 7,826 degree days (base 65°F)Minnesota7,826Vermont: 7,426 degree days (base 65°F)Vermont7,426South Dakota: 7,036 degree days (base 65°F)South Dakota7,036Maine: 6,959 degree days (base 65°F)Maine6,959Wisconsin: 6,934 degree days (base 65°F)Wisconsin6,934New Hampshire: 6,788 degree days (base 65°F)New Hampshire6,788Colorado: 6,723 degree days (base 65°F)Colorado6,723Utah: 6,551 degree days (base 65°F)Utah6,551Idaho: 6,479 degree days (base 65°F)Idaho6,479Iowa: 6,352 degree days (base 65°F)Iowa6,352Michigan: 6,079 degree days (base 65°F)Michigan6,079Nebraska: 5,825 degree days (base 65°F)Nebraska5,825Illinois: 5,684 degree days (base 65°F)Illinois5,684Washington: 5,562 degree days (base 65°F)Washington5,562New York: 5,517 degree days (base 65°F)New York5,517Massachusetts: 5,515 degree days (base 65°F)Massachusetts5,515Connecticut: 5,410 degree days (base 65°F)Connecticut5,410Indiana: 5,273 degree days (base 65°F)Indiana5,273Pennsylvania: 5,231 degree days (base 65°F)Pennsylvania5,231Rhode Island: 5,220 degree days (base 65°F)Rhode Island5,220Ohio: 5,213 degree days (base 65°F)Ohio5,213Oregon: 5,068 degree days (base 65°F)Oregon5,068West Virginia: 4,759 degree days (base 65°F)West Virginia4,759New Jersey: 4,757 degree days (base 65°F)New Jersey4,757Missouri: 4,645 degree days (base 65°F)Missouri4,645Kansas: 4,532 degree days (base 65°F)Kansas4,532New Mexico: 4,187 degree days (base 65°F)New Mexico4,187Kentucky: 4,165 degree days (base 65°F)Kentucky4,165Delaware: 4,164 degree days (base 65°F)Delaware4,164Maryland: 4,159 degree days (base 65°F)Maryland4,159Virginia: 3,927 degree days (base 65°F)Virginia3,927Tennessee: 3,503 degree days (base 65°F)Tennessee3,503Oklahoma: 3,346 degree days (base 65°F)Oklahoma3,346Nevada: 3,284 degree days (base 65°F)Nevada3,284Arkansas: 3,254 degree days (base 65°F)Arkansas3,254North Carolina: 3,104 degree days (base 65°F)North Carolina3,104California: 2,689 degree days (base 65°F)California2,689Georgia: 2,502 degree days (base 65°F)Georgia2,502Alabama: 2,396 degree days (base 65°F)Alabama2,396South Carolina: 2,373 degree days (base 65°F)South Carolina2,373Mississippi: 2,162 degree days (base 65°F)Mississippi2,162Arizona: 1,723 degree days (base 65°F)Arizona1,723Texas: 1,643 degree days (base 65°F)Texas1,643Louisiana: 1,510 degree days (base 65°F)Louisiana1,510Florida: 505 degree days (base 65°F)Florida505North Dakota: 8,373 degree days (base 65°F)North Dakota8,373Montana: 8,203 degree days (base 65°F)Montana8,203Wyoming: 7,865 degree days (base 65°F)Wyoming7,865Minnesota: 7,826 degree days (base 65°F)Minnesota7,826Vermont: 7,426 degree days (base 65°F)Vermont7,426South Dakota: 7,036 degree days (base 65°F)South Dakota7,036Maine: 6,959 degree days (base 65°F)Maine6,959Wisconsin: 6,934 degree days (base 65°F)Wisconsin6,934New Hampshire: 6,788 degree days (base 65°F)New Hampshire6,788Colorado: 6,723 degree days (base 65°F)Colorado6,723Utah: 6,551 degree days (base 65°F)Utah6,551Idaho: 6,479 degree days (base 65°F)Idaho6,479Iowa: 6,352 degree days (base 65°F)Iowa6,352Michigan: 6,079 degree days (base 65°F)Michigan6,079Nebraska: 5,825 degree days (base 65°F)Nebraska5,825Illinois: 5,684 degree days (base 65°F)Illinois5,684Washington: 5,562 degree days (base 65°F)Washington5,562New York: 5,517 degree days (base 65°F)New York5,517Massachusetts: 5,515 degree days (base 65°F)Massachusetts5,515Connecticut: 5,410 degree days (base 65°F)Connecticut5,410Indiana: 5,273 degree days (base 65°F)Indiana5,273Pennsylvania: 5,231 degree days (base 65°F)Pennsylvania5,231Rhode Island: 5,220 degree days (base 65°F)Rhode Island5,220Ohio: 5,213 degree days (base 65°F)Ohio5,213Oregon: 5,068 degree days (base 65°F)Oregon5,068West Virginia: 4,759 degree days (base 65°F)West Virginia4,759New Jersey: 4,757 degree days (base 65°F)New Jersey4,757Missouri: 4,645 degree days (base 65°F)Missouri4,645Kansas: 4,532 degree days (base 65°F)Kansas4,532New Mexico: 4,187 degree days (base 65°F)New Mexico4,187Kentucky: 4,165 degree days (base 65°F)Kentucky4,165Delaware: 4,164 degree days (base 65°F)Delaware4,164Maryland: 4,159 degree days (base 65°F)Maryland4,159Virginia: 3,927 degree days (base 65°F)Virginia3,927Tennessee: 3,503 degree days (base 65°F)Tennessee3,503Oklahoma: 3,346 degree days (base 65°F)Oklahoma3,346Nevada: 3,284 degree days (base 65°F)Nevada3,284Arkansas: 3,254 degree days (base 65°F)Arkansas3,254North Carolina: 3,104 degree days (base 65°F)North Carolina3,104California: 2,689 degree days (base 65°F)California2,689Georgia: 2,502 degree days (base 65°F)Georgia2,502Alabama: 2,396 degree days (base 65°F)Alabama2,396South Carolina: 2,373 degree days (base 65°F)South Carolina2,373Mississippi: 2,162 degree days (base 65°F)Mississippi2,162Arizona: 1,723 degree days (base 65°F)Arizona1,723Texas: 1,643 degree days (base 65°F)Texas1,643Louisiana: 1,510 degree days (base 65°F)Louisiana1,510Florida: 505 degree days (base 65°F)Florida505
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

RankStates2021
degree days (base 65°F)		Change on 2020
1North Dakota8,373-5.5%
2Montana8,203-1.2%
3Wyoming7,865-2.5%
4Minnesota7,826-5.8%
5Vermont7,426-0.7%
6South Dakota7,036-4.6%
7Maine6,959-3.1%
8Wisconsin6,934-3.5%
9New Hampshire6,788-1.7%
10Colorado6,723-1.3%
11Utah6,551-2.1%
12Idaho6,479-2.7%
13Iowa6,352-3.5%
14Michigan6,079-3.1%
15Nebraska5,825-3.7%
16Illinois5,684-1.6%
17Washington5,562+2.7%
18New York5,517+0.7%
19Massachusetts5,515-0.4%
20Connecticut5,410+1.2%
21Indiana5,273-0.1%
22Pennsylvania5,231+0.9%
23Rhode Island5,220+0.7%
24Ohio5,213-0.7%
25Oregon5,068+0.5%
26West Virginia4,759+2%
27New Jersey4,757+3.1%
28Missouri4,645-2.5%
29Kansas4,532-2.7%
30New Mexico4,187+0.5%
31Kentucky4,165+2.1%
32Delaware4,164+4.1%
33Maryland4,159+3.4%
34Virginia3,927+4.4%
35Tennessee3,503+2.1%
36Oklahoma3,346+2.5%
37Nevada3,284+0.3%
38Arkansas3,254+2%
39North Carolina3,104+6.9%
40California2,689+4.6%
41Georgia2,502+4.1%
42Alabama2,396+4.9%
43South Carolina2,373+9.7%
44Mississippi2,162+9%
45Arizona1,723-6.1%
46Texas1,643+6.1%
47Louisiana1,510+13%
48Florida505+2.4%

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

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

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_us_states_by_heating_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 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/32/hdd/12/12/1895-2025/data.json
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-degree-days/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/heating-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 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 8,373 degree days (base 65°F) in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which state has the lowest heating degree days?

Florida, with 505 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 heating degree days (base 65°F), contiguous US and statewide. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings