a landable guide
240+ pleasant days a year, a bar only 19 US cities clear. Sunshine that you can actually be outside in.
By Karol Gajda
Most sunshine rankings count cloudless days, which is why they are topped by desert cities where half the year is too hot to go outside. That is a measurement problem, not a climate one. A day at 108 degrees is sunny and useless.
This list uses pleasant days instead: days in a comfortable temperature band, with extreme heat and cold penalized. It filters to at least 240 pleasant days a year, a bar only 19 US cities clear, then ranks on weather, parks, and walkability so the result is not merely a roster of warm places.
01
Photo by Stephen Crane on Unsplash
CA · 3.3M metro
San Diego tops the list with 332 pleasant days a year and no days above 95 degrees. Sunshine without the summer penalty, at $2,890 median rent.
332
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$2,890
median rent / month
02
CA · 830k metro
Oxnard lands second: 342 pleasant days, no days above 95 degrees, and $2,995 a month.
342
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$2,995
median rent / month
03
Photo by Andrew Whitmore on Unsplash
CA · 4.6M metro
San Francisco takes third with 312 pleasant days and no days above 95 degrees, at $3,146 median rent.
312
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$3,146
median rent / month
04
Photo by Adrian Diaz-Sieckel on Unsplash
FL · 6.2M metro
Miami pairs 272 pleasant days with no days above 95 degrees. Rent runs $2,665.
272
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$2,665
median rent / month
05
Photo by Jason Moyer on Unsplash
CA · 282k metro
San Luis Obispo earns its spot on comfort rather than raw sun: 303 pleasant days, just 14 days above 95.
303
pleasant days a year
14
days a year above 95°F
$3,095
median rent / month
06
Photo by Joseph Corl on Unsplash
FL · 262k metro
Sarasota is the mid-list pick that holds up: 249 pleasant days, just 1 days above 95, $2,121 rent.
249
pleasant days a year
1
days a year above 95°F
$2,121
median rent / month
07
Photo by KADM Creations on Unsplash
HI · 989k metro
Honolulu clears the bar with 316 pleasant days and no days above 95 degrees.
316
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$2,843
median rent / month
08
Photo by John Ruddock on Unsplash
CA · 431k metro
Salinas keeps the season long: 335 pleasant days a year, no days above 95 degrees, $2,813 a month.
335
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$2,813
median rent / month
09
FL · 3.3M metro
Tampa lands near the bottom of the ten and still runs sunny: 243 pleasant days, just 3 days above 95.
243
pleasant days a year
3
days a year above 95°F
$1,996
median rent / month
10
Photo by High Tide Content on Unsplash
SC · 397k metro
Myrtle Beach rounds out the list with 249 pleasant days, no days above 95 degrees, and $1,727 median rent.
249
pleasant days a year
0
days a year above 95°F
$1,727
median rent / month
Filtered to at least 240 pleasant days a year, then ranked 30% weather, 20% affordability, 20% parks, 15% things to do, and 15% walkability. The pleasant-days bar does the heavy lifting, so the weights decide which of the sunny cities is actually worth living in.
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