The Price of a Sunny Day: Top 5 Bargain Cities for Sunshine
February 4, 2012
I recently learned that my hometown, Pueblo, Colorado, receives more sunshine than San Diego, California. I was really surprised and began to wonder who pays the most and who pays the least for sunshine in America? So I decided to take a look and see what I could find out.
This simple analysis assumes that all you care about is getting the most sunshine at the lowest price of housing (owning rather than renting) in the US. According to my calculations, the best deal can be found in Abilene, Texas at $252.45 per day of annual sunshine and the worst deal would be San Francisco, California at $2,720.22 per day.
You can find the whole list at the bottom of this post or click here to see a map. Here are the top 5 for each of the four census regions in the US:
Midwest
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Wichita, Kansas
- Topeka, Kansas
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Evansville, Indiana
Northeast
- Albany, New York
- Binghamton, New York
- Buffalo, New York
- Syracuse, New York
- Rochester, New York
South
- Abilene, Texas
- El Paso, Texas
- Brownsville, Texas
- Midland-Odessa, Texas
- Lake Charles, Louisiana
West
- Yuma, Arizona
- Pocatello, Idaho
- Pueblo, Colorado
- Great Falls, Montana
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
I started by taking the percent sunshine figures from the National Climate Data Center (NCDC). For each of the cities in this list I found the median value of housing for the corresponding CBSAs from the US Census Bureau. Then I simply divided the median housing value ($) by the product of 365 days and the NCDC percent of sunshine. So, to calculate the price of a day’s worth of annual sunshine in New York City you do the following:
- NYC median housing value = $419,200
- % annual sunshine in NYC = 58%
- Days in the year = 365
- Price of a sunny day in NYC = $419,200 ÷ (365*0.58) = $1,980.16
I know, I know. This fails to account for taxes and other expenses. This formula only includes 2 digits of decimal accuracy and forgets to account for leap year. It doesn’t include all CBSAs, it includes some cities with not very many years worth of data. There are hundreds of other ways this could be done that might be better. Blah blah blah. I don’t have time to write a thesis. But I think this rough cut still reveals some interesting patterns.
On a separate page I’ve listed the Top 25 Sunniest Places ranked by housing cost. Here is the whole ranked list (or download CSV: PriceSunnyDay) along with % Sunshine, Median home value, $ per Sunny Day.
Rank | Location | % Sunshine | Median Home | $ Per Sunny Day |
1 | ABILENE, TX | 70% | $64,500 | $252.45 |
2 | EL PASO, TX | 84% | $78,600 | $256.36 |
3 | BROWNSVILLE, TX | 60% | $62,100 | $283.56 |
4 | MIDLAND-ODESSA, TX | 74% | $85,200 | $315.44 |
5 | LAKE CHARLES, LA | 72% | $84,200 | $320.40 |
6 | LUBBOCK, TX | 72% | $84,600 | $321.92 |
7 | YUMA, AZ | 90% | $106,800 | $325.11 |
8 | TUPELO, MS | 64% | $81,100 | $347.17 |
9 | AMARILLO, TX | 73% | $92,700 | $347.91 |
10 | FORT SMITH, AR | 61% | $77,500 | $348.08 |
11 | CORPUS CHRISTI, TX | 60% | $83,500 | $381.28 |
12 | SIOUX CITY, IA | 61% | $88,800 | $398.83 |
13 | SHREVEPORT, LA | 64% | $94,400 | $404.11 |
14 | PADUCAH, KY | 58% | $86,200 | $407.18 |
15 | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | 68% | $102,600 | $413.38 |
16 | WICHITA, KS | 65% | $100,900 | $425.29 |
17 | POCATELLO, ID | 64% | $99,400 | $425.51 |
18 | MACON, GA | 66% | $102,800 | $426.73 |
19 | PUEBLO, CO | 76% | $121,700 | $438.72 |
20 | SAN ANTONIO, TX | 60% | $97,200 | $443.84 |
21 | ALBANY, NY | 53% | $86,700 | $448.18 |
22 | TOPEKA, KS | 61% | $103,500 | $464.86 |
23 | BINGHAMTON, NY | 49% | $83,900 | $469.11 |
24 | TULSA, OK | 62% | $106,900 | $472.38 |
25 | FORT WAYNE, IN | 59% | $102,000 | $473.65 |
26 | JACKSON, MS | 61% | $106,300 | $477.43 |
27 | LITTLE ROCK, AR | 62% | $108,700 | $480.34 |
28 | MONTGOMERY, AL | 58% | $101,900 | $481.34 |
29 | EVANSVILLE, IN | 59% | $104,500 | $485.26 |
30 | BISMARCK, ND | 59% | $106,700 | $495.47 |
31 | MEMPHIS, TN | 64% | $117,500 | $503.00 |
32 | GREAT FALLS, MT | 61% | $112,600 | $505.73 |
33 | SPRINGFIELD, IL | 58% | $107,400 | $507.32 |
34 | COLUMBIA, SC | 64% | $119,800 | $512.84 |
35 | SPRINGFIELD, MO | 60% | $113,500 | $518.26 |
36 | RAPID CITY, SD | 63% | $120,500 | $524.03 |
37 | ALBUQUERQUE, NM | 76% | $146,900 | $529.56 |
38 | TUCSON, AZ | 85% | $167,400 | $539.56 |
39 | GREENVILLE, SC | 60% | $119,600 | $546.12 |
40 | PEORIA, IL | 56% | $111,800 | $546.97 |
41 | LYNCHBURG, VA | 59% | $118,700 | $551.20 |
42 | BIRMINGHAM, AL | 58% | $118,200 | $558.34 |
43 | CHATTANOOGA, TN | 57% | $116,300 | $559.00 |
44 | BUFFALO, NY | 48% | $99,700 | $569.06 |
45 | SYRACUSE, NY | 46% | $95,800 | $570.58 |
46 | GREENSBORO, NC | 60% | $125,400 | $572.60 |
47 | HOUSTON, TX | 59% | $123,400 | $573.02 |
48 | FARGO, ND | 57% | $123,700 | $594.57 |
49 | KNOXVILLE, TN | 56% | $122,700 | $600.29 |
50 | DALLAS-FT WORTH, TX | 61% | $133,900 | $601.39 |
51 | SAVANNAH, GA | 62% | $136,300 | $602.30 |
52 | LINCOLN, NE | 61% | $135,000 | $606.33 |
53 | CHEYENNE, WY | 66% | $146,700 | $608.97 |
54 | ROCHESTER, NY | 51% | $113,900 | $611.87 |
55 | BILLINGS, MT | 60% | $134,400 | $613.70 |
56 | PENSACOLA, FL | 60% | $135,100 | $616.89 |
57 | OMAHA, NE | 60% | $135,800 | $620.09 |
58 | COLUMBIA, MO | 56% | $126,800 | $620.35 |
59 | GRAND JUNCTION, CO | 71% | $163,600 | $631.29 |
60 | DES MOINES, IA | 59% | $136,400 | $633.39 |
61 | PITTSBURGH, PA | 45% | $104,600 | $636.83 |
62 | BOISE, ID | 64% | $149,400 | $639.55 |
63 | DAYTON, OH | 53% | $124,400 | $643.06 |
64 | DULUTH, MN | 52% | $122,400 | $644.89 |
65 | LOUISVILLE, KY | 56% | $132,800 | $649.71 |
66 | HARRISBURG, PA | 58% | $138,000 | $651.87 |
67 | HELENA, MT | 59% | $140,500 | $652.43 |
68 | TOLEDO, OH | 52% | $125,500 | $661.22 |
69 | WILMINGTON, NC | 63% | $152,200 | $661.88 |
70 | KANSAS CITY, MO | 60% | $145,500 | $664.38 |
71 | NEW ORLEANS, LA | 57% | $138,500 | $665.71 |
72 | CHARLOTTE, NC | 62% | $150,900 | $666.81 |
73 | PHOENIX, AZ | 85% | $207,300 | $668.17 |
74 | TAMPA, FL | 66% | $163,300 | $677.87 |
75 | INDIANAPOLIS, IN | 55% | $136,500 | $679.95 |
76 | ST. LOUIS, MO | 57% | $141,800 | $681.57 |
77 | CHARLESTON, SC | 63% | $158,800 | $690.58 |
78 | ASHEVILLE, NC | 59% | $149,900 | $696.08 |
79 | BURLINGTON, VT | 49% | $125,000 | $698.91 |
80 | JACKSONVILLE, FL | 63% | $162,000 | $704.50 |
81 | NASHVILLE, TN | 56% | $148,500 | $726.52 |
82 | AUSTIN, TX | 60% | $161,000 | $735.16 |
83 | SALT LAKE CITY, UT | 66% | $177,900 | $738.48 |
84 | SPOKANE, WA | 54% | $147,000 | $745.81 |
85 | REDDING, CA | 88% | $240,200 | $747.82 |
86 | GREEN BAY, WI | 54% | $147,400 | $747.84 |
87 | FLAGSTAFF, AZ | 78% | $213,500 | $749.91 |
88 | RICHMOND, VA | 63% | $173,200 | $753.21 |
89 | RALEIGH, NC | 58% | $170,000 | $803.02 |
90 | ATLANTA, GA | 60% | $177,200 | $809.13 |
91 | LANSING, MI | 51% | $151,900 | $816.01 |
92 | CLEVELAND, OH | 49% | $146,700 | $820.24 |
93 | GRAND RAPIDS, MI | 46% | $141,600 | $843.36 |
94 | COLUMBUS, OH | 50% | $155,600 | $852.60 |
95 | FRESNO, CA | 79% | $251,000 | $870.47 |
96 | DETROIT, MI | 53% | $170,600 | $881.88 |
97 | ALLENTOWN, PA | 53% | $175,300 | $906.18 |
98 | LAS VEGAS, NV | 85% | $289,300 | $932.47 |
99 | MILWAUKEE, WI | 54% | $183,800 | $932.52 |
100 | DENVER, CO | 69% | $239,100 | $949.37 |
101 | MIAMI, FL | 70% | $250,000 | $978.47 |
102 | MISSOULA, MT | 55% | $204,000 | $1,016.19 |
103 | PHILADELPHIA, PA | 56% | $208,400 | $1,019.57 |
104 | MADISON, WI | 54% | $203,200 | $1,030.95 |
105 | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ | 56% | $221,800 | $1,085.13 |
106 | PORTLAND, ME | 57% | $225,800 | $1,085.32 |
107 | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | 58% | $235,900 | $1,114.31 |
108 | HARTFORD, CT | 56% | $229,400 | $1,122.31 |
109 | RENO, NV | 79% | $333,700 | $1,157.27 |
110 | BALTIMORE, MD | 57% | $243,500 | $1,170.39 |
111 | CONCORD, NH | 54% | $231,700 | $1,175.55 |
112 | CHICAGO, IL | 54% | $233,500 | $1,184.68 |
113 | PORTLAND, OR | 48% | $228,400 | $1,303.65 |
114 | PROVIDENCE, RI | 58% | $294,900 | $1,393.01 |
115 | SACRAMENTO, CA | 78% | $396,900 | $1,394.10 |
116 | ANCHORAGE, AK | 41% | $217,500 | $1,453.39 |
117 | EUREKA, CA | 51% | $300,700 | $1,615.36 |
118 | HONOLULU, HI | 71% | $457,700 | $1,766.16 |
119 | SEATTLE, WA | 43% | $290,200 | $1,849.00 |
120 | BOSTON, MA | 58% | $394,800 | $1,864.90 |
121 | LOS ANGELES, CA | 73% | $520,000 | $1,951.59 |
122 | NEW YORK, NY | 58% | $419,200 | $1,980.16 |
123 | WASHINGTON, D.C. | 56% | $404,900 | $1,980.92 |
124 | HILO, HI | 41% | $329,900 | $2,204.48 |
125 | SAN DIEGO, CA | 68% | $552,000 | $2,224.01 |
126 | KAHULUI, HI | 67% | $573,400 | $2,344.71 |
127 | KEY WEST, FL | 76% | $683,200 | $2,462.87 |
128 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 66% | $655,300 | $2,720.22 |
10 Comments
[…] recently put together a way to calculate the price of a day of annual sunshine. I thought some people might be interested in finding just the sunniest places in America ranked […]
This is a good analysis, and very interesting.
However, if you just go by sunny days as your metric of “nice weather”, then you’d conclude that Chicago has a slightly nicer climate than Portland OR and Seattle WA. I think the population dynamics of the last 30 years, and rudimentary common sense, would indicate that this is patently false.
Still, I think a reasonable accounting for “how much do you pay for decent weather”, would likely rank Pueblo fairly high. But focusing purely on sunny days is a bit distorting, overly rewarding sunny and cold, or sunny and quite hot, or sunny and humid, and punishing cloudy and mild.
pjc, thank you for the comment. I agree that this can be misleading as it’s not meant as a metric of “nice weather”. Right up front I state that this assumes you just want the most sunshine for the lowest housing cost. I like the example of Chicago vs Portland/Seattle because I think a lot of people mistakenly assume that they’ll prefer the climate in the Pacific Northwest but have no idea how little sunshine they’ll see during the winter months. Most people are surprised to hear that I like the climate in Ann Arbor better than in Eugene, Oregon. Summers in Eugene are just about perfect but the long grey dreary winters were tough to take even though the mild temperatures were very nice.
I like the question “how much do you pay for decent weather” and I plan to work on this a bit but it will take more data, more time and I’m not sure there’s a way around the subjective side of what constitutes good weather. Some people like it warmer than others, cooler than others, wetter than others, etc. In any case, thanks again for the comment and let me know if you have any additional thoughts.
[…] recent blog posts I generated a list of the Top 25 Sunniest US Cities Ranked by Housing Cost and I explained my methodology in another post. I was waiting on some new features in the MarketSeer web mapping system that we’ve been […]
Justin:
Dreary winters in Eugene? That’s what the good Pinot Noirs and Maple Garden are for.
Great Blog! I wish I would have known about it before now.
Hi Bob – Sorry you you missed the blog until now! Glad you found it! Cheers, Justin
[…] a great way to communicate to the world that Pueblo has abundant solar energy capacity. Come to Pueblo and ride The Solar […]
[…] Previous postNext post […]
How can I reverse this and find the best value for cloudy weather? I hate sunny days! I feel happy and cheerful when the weather is cloudy. Seattle might seem like the best choice for me but it seems like Buffalo or Pittsburgh offers the best comfortable cloudy weather for the lowest price.
I do not mind a very warm day if the sky is completely overcast and cloudy but I dislike a sunny 75 degree day. I think the best way to cope with uncomfortable sunny days is to do all ones errands at night once the sun goes down. I want the least amount of sunshine possible. My ideal climate would be 364 cloudy days a year! I would be willing to suffer through one sunny day per year just to remind me how good I have it with 364 cloudy days per year.
Hi Manny,
Alaska is a good bet. If you don’t want to leave the lower 48 then here’s a list of places averaging 200+ cloudy days per year.
City State Avg # Cloudy Days Per Year
MT. WASHINGTON NH 244
ASTORIA OR 239
OLYMPIA WA 228
SEATTLE WA 226
PORTLAND OR 222
KALISPELL MT 214
BINGHAMTON NY 212
ELKINS WV 212
BECKLEY WV 210
EUGENE OR 209
SAULT STE. MARIE MI 209
BUFFALO NY 208
MISSOULA MT 208
SALEM OR 208
BURLINGTON VT 206
CARIBOU ME 206
GRAND RAPIDS MI 205
SYRACUSE NY 205
YOUNGSTOWN OH 205
HUNTINGTON WV 203
PITTSBURGH PA 203
CLEVELAND OH 202
MUSKEGON MI 202
HOUGHTON LAKE MI 200
ROCHESTER NY 200