We ranked 96 of the largest U.S. cities by how hard their climate makes your HVAC system work — using NOAA's official heating and cooling degree-day normals. Find out where your city lands.
Every home's heating and cooling bill starts with one thing: the local climate. Meteorologists measure that demand with degree days — the bigger the number, the more energy it takes to keep a home comfortable. Heating degree days (HDD) capture how cold and how long winter is; cooling degree days (CDD) capture the heat of summer.
Using NOAA's 1981–2010 U.S. Climate Normals, we pulled the annual HDD and CDD for a representative weather station in each of 96 major U.S. cities, then ranked them. The result is a snapshot of where Americans' furnaces and air conditioners work hardest — and where they barely run at all.
Ranked by total annual degree days (heating + cooling). Click a column header to re-sort, or download the full dataset. ⬇ Download CSV
| # | City | State | Heating DD | Cooling DD | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | AK | 10,068 | 11 | 10,079 |
| 2 | Fargo | ND | 8,800 | 551 | 9,351 |
| 3 | Minneapolis | MN | 7,722 | 692 | 8,414 |
| 4 | Sioux Falls | SD | 7,706 | 691 | 8,397 |
| 5 | Burlington | VT | 7,435 | 492 | 7,927 |
| 6 | Madison | WI | 7,332 | 568 | 7,900 |
| 7 | Milwaukee | WI | 6,894 | 641 | 7,535 |
| 8 | Portland | ME | 7,106 | 360 | 7,466 |
| 9 | Cheyenne | WY | 7,111 | 349 | 7,460 |
| 10 | Billings | MT | 6,781 | 637 | 7,418 |
| 11 | Omaha | NE | 6,506 | 906 | 7,412 |
| 12 | Albany | NY | 6,680 | 597 | 7,277 |
| 13 | Des Moines | IA | 6,203 | 1,068 | 7,271 |
| 14 | Lincoln | NE | 6,056 | 1,174 | 7,230 |
| 15 | Syracuse | NY | 6,651 | 570 | 7,221 |
| 16 | Rochester | NY | 6,646 | 539 | 7,185 |
| 17 | Grand Rapids | MI | 6,485 | 698 | 7,183 |
| 18 | Chicago | IL | 6,339 | 842 | 7,181 |
| 19 | Buffalo | NY | 6,617 | 544 | 7,161 |
| 20 | Spokane | WA | 6,593 | 450 | 7,043 |
| 21 | Manchester | NH | 6,394 | 641 | 7,035 |
| 22 | Detroit | MI | 6,168 | 824 | 6,992 |
| 23 | Fort Wayne | IN | 6,102 | 809 | 6,911 |
| 24 | Toledo | OH | 6,067 | 830 | 6,897 |
| 25 | Denver | CO | 6,059 | 769 | 6,828 |
| 26 | Salt Lake City | UT | 5,607 | 1,159 | 6,766 |
| 27 | Hartford | CT | 5,999 | 756 | 6,755 |
| 28 | Colorado Springs | CO | 6,292 | 455 | 6,747 |
| 29 | Cleveland | OH | 5,761 | 817 | 6,578 |
| 30 | Dayton | OH | 5,645 | 900 | 6,545 |
| 31 | Kansas City | MO | 5,133 | 1,360 | 6,493 |
| 32 | Boise | ID | 5,513 | 942 | 6,455 |
| 33 | Pittsburgh | PA | 5,710 | 736 | 6,446 |
| 34 | Indianapolis | IN | 5,379 | 1,066 | 6,445 |
| 35 | Columbus | OH | 5,569 | 861 | 6,430 |
| 36 | Boston | MA | 5,681 | 747 | 6,428 |
| 37 | Providence | RI | 5,618 | 744 | 6,362 |
| 38 | Wichita | KS | 4,592 | 1,686 | 6,278 |
| 39 | St Louis | MO | 4,535 | 1,646 | 6,181 |
| 40 | Cincinnati | OH | 4,957 | 1,067 | 6,024 |
| 41 | Wilmington | DE | 4,819 | 1,145 | 5,964 |
| 42 | Baltimore | MD | 4,764 | 1,164 | 5,928 |
| 43 | Philadelphia | PA | 4,612 | 1,301 | 5,913 |
| 44 | New York | NY | 4,750 | 1,105 | 5,855 |
| 45 | Lexington | KY | 4,610 | 1,191 | 5,801 |
| 46 | Reno | NV | 4,926 | 838 | 5,764 |
| 47 | Louisville | KY | 4,097 | 1,614 | 5,711 |
| 48 | Tulsa | OK | 3,574 | 2,037 | 5,611 |
| 49 | Oklahoma City | OK | 3,635 | 1,969 | 5,604 |
| 50 | Washington | DC | 4,030 | 1,550 | 5,580 |
| 51 | Phoenix | AZ | 935 | 4,608 | 5,543 |
| 52 | Albuquerque | NM | 4,180 | 1,322 | 5,502 |
| 53 | Las Vegas | NV | 2,045 | 3,294 | 5,339 |
| 54 | Nashville | TN | 3,688 | 1,647 | 5,335 |
| 55 | Richmond | VA | 3,771 | 1,549 | 5,320 |
| 56 | Memphis | TN | 2,965 | 2,258 | 5,223 |
| 57 | Lubbock | TX | 3,380 | 1,804 | 5,184 |
| 58 | Little Rock | AR | 3,006 | 2,170 | 5,176 |
| 59 | Knoxville | TN | 3,636 | 1,526 | 5,162 |
| 60 | Greensboro | NC | 3,617 | 1,485 | 5,102 |
| 61 | Dallas | TX | 2,135 | 2,945 | 5,080 |
| 62 | Virginia Beach | VA | 3,376 | 1,630 | 5,006 |
| 63 | Fort Worth | TX | 2,130 | 2,858 | 4,988 |
| 64 | Raleigh | NC | 3,246 | 1,731 | 4,977 |
| 65 | Charlotte | NC | 3,390 | 1,519 | 4,909 |
| 66 | Seattle | WA | 4,696 | 188 | 4,884 |
| 67 | El Paso | TX | 2,473 | 2,331 | 4,804 |
| 68 | Birmingham | AL | 2,678 | 2,058 | 4,736 |
| 69 | Columbia | SC | 2,551 | 2,169 | 4,720 |
| 70 | Miami | FL | 128 | 4,575 | 4,703 |
| 71 | Portland | OR | 4,277 | 424 | 4,701 |
| 72 | Tucson | AZ | 1,512 | 3,145 | 4,657 |
| 73 | Jackson | MS | 2,392 | 2,258 | 4,650 |
| 74 | Honolulu | HI | 0 | 4,628 | 4,628 |
| 75 | San Antonio | TX | 1,494 | 3,132 | 4,626 |
| 76 | Atlanta | GA | 2,880 | 1,744 | 4,624 |
| 77 | Fresno | CA | 2,346 | 2,124 | 4,470 |
| 78 | Bakersfield | CA | 2,173 | 2,259 | 4,432 |
| 79 | Corpus Christi | TX | 899 | 3,523 | 4,422 |
| 80 | Baton Rouge | LA | 1,555 | 2,825 | 4,380 |
| 81 | Austin | TX | 1,828 | 2,511 | 4,339 |
| 82 | Houston | TX | 1,580 | 2,745 | 4,325 |
| 83 | New Orleans | LA | 1,281 | 3,004 | 4,285 |
| 84 | Charleston | SC | 1,977 | 2,304 | 4,281 |
| 85 | Savannah | GA | 1,811 | 2,458 | 4,269 |
| 86 | Tallahassee | FL | 1,596 | 2,592 | 4,188 |
| 87 | Tampa | FL | 539 | 3,611 | 4,150 |
| 88 | Jacksonville | FL | 1,350 | 2,664 | 4,014 |
| 89 | Orlando | FL | 571 | 3,424 | 3,995 |
| 90 | Sacramento | CA | 2,618 | 1,178 | 3,796 |
| 91 | Riverside | CA | 1,447 | 1,757 | 3,204 |
| 92 | Oakland | CA | 2,873 | 138 | 3,011 |
| 93 | San Francisco | CA | 2,653 | 163 | 2,816 |
| 94 | San Jose | CA | 2,001 | 730 | 2,731 |
| 95 | Los Angeles | CA | 1,420 | 552 | 1,972 |
| 96 | San Diego | CA | 1,226 | 720 | 1,946 |
The same NOAA degree-day data, aggregated to all 51 U.S. states + D.C. and scored 0–100 for combined heating + cooling demand. This is the ranking referenced on our state pages.
| # | State | Heating DD | Cooling DD | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 11,595 | 10 | 100/100 |
| 2 | North Dakota | 9,037 | 405 | 73/100 |
| 3 | Minnesota | 8,796 | 418 | 70/100 |
| 4 | Maine | 8,371 | 253 | 62/100 |
| 5 | Wyoming | 8,240 | 349 | 62/100 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 8,112 | 338 | 60/100 |
| 7 | Montana | 8,099 | 335 | 60/100 |
| 8 | South Dakota | 7,687 | 652 | 59/100 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 7,790 | 486 | 58/100 |
| 10 | Vermont | 7,733 | 352 | 56/100 |
| 11 | Michigan | 7,523 | 437 | 54/100 |
| 12 | Idaho | 7,528 | 384 | 54/100 |
| 13 | Iowa | 6,779 | 817 | 50/100 |
| 14 | Colorado | 6,962 | 534 | 48/100 |
| 15 | Nebraska | 6,473 | 893 | 47/100 |
| 16 | New York | 6,653 | 544 | 45/100 |
| 17 | Utah | 6,411 | 765 | 44/100 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 6,312 | 518 | 40/100 |
| 19 | Illinois | 5,749 | 1,022 | 39/100 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 5,894 | 714 | 37/100 |
| 21 | Ohio | 5,801 | 778 | 37/100 |
| 22 | Connecticut | 5,871 | 678 | 36/100 |
| 23 | Indiana | 5,588 | 943 | 36/100 |
| 24 | Nevada | 5,292 | 1,180 | 35/100 |
| 25 | Kansas | 4,946 | 1,456 | 35/100 |
| 26 | Rhode Island | 5,812 | 511 | 34/100 |
| 27 | Missouri | 4,896 | 1,320 | 32/100 |
| 28 | New Jersey | 5,256 | 919 | 32/100 |
| 29 | West Virginia | 5,243 | 793 | 30/100 |
| 30 | Washington | 5,635 | 290 | 29/100 |
| 31 | Oregon | 5,574 | 315 | 28/100 |
| 32 | Delaware | 4,613 | 1,171 | 27/100 |
| 33 | Maryland | 4,432 | 1,287 | 26/100 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 4,586 | 1,104 | 26/100 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | 3,763 | 1,913 | 25/100 |
| 36 | Kentucky | 4,373 | 1,301 | 25/100 |
| 37 | District of Columbia | 4,030 | 1,550 | 24/100 |
| 38 | Arizona | 2,947 | 2,361 | 21/100 |
| 39 | Tennessee | 3,749 | 1,524 | 20/100 |
| 40 | Virginia | 3,852 | 1,416 | 20/100 |
| 41 | Arkansas | 3,352 | 1,867 | 20/100 |
| 42 | North Carolina | 3,195 | 1,593 | 14/100 |
| 43 | Texas | 1,985 | 2,759 | 14/100 |
| 44 | Mississippi | 2,427 | 2,170 | 12/100 |
| 45 | South Carolina | 2,542 | 1,998 | 11/100 |
| 46 | Alabama | 2,605 | 1,932 | 11/100 |
| 47 | Georgia | 2,335 | 2,098 | 10/100 |
| 48 | Louisiana | 1,744 | 2,642 | 9/100 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 1,375 | 2,840 | 7/100 |
| 50 | Florida | 751 | 3,392 | 6/100 |
| 51 | California | 2,499 | 1,161 | 0/100 |
In places like Anchorage and Fargo, a furnace or heat pump failure in winter isn't just uncomfortable — it's a safety issue. Heating reliability and fast emergency service matter most.
In Phoenix and across the Sun Belt, air conditioning runs much of the year. AC sizing, refrigerant health, and quick repair keep homes livable through long, hot summers.
Cities like El Paso and Memphis get hard winters and hard summers — homeowners there rely on both a furnace and an AC, so year-round maintenance pays off.
Wherever you are, ComfortDispatch24 connects you with an independent, licensed local HVAC pro — free, 24/7, including holidays. We never quote pricing; your estimate comes straight from the local pro.
Figures are annual heating degree days (ANN-HTDD-NORMAL) and cooling degree days (ANN-CLDD-NORMAL) from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information 1981–2010 U.S. Climate Normals, base 65°F, retrieved via the NOAA NCEI Climate Data Online API. Each city is represented by its primary airport weather station. "Total" is HDD + CDD, a simple proxy for combined year-round HVAC demand. Data is public domain (NOAA); this analysis is free to cite with attribution to ComfortDispatch24. Degree-day normals describe long-term climate, not any single year's weather.
Citation: ComfortDispatch24, "America's Most Extreme Heating & Cooling Cities (2026)." Data: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals.