Where are America's Coldest Cities?
What are the top 5 coldest cities in the United States? We’ve compiled a new list based on mean annual temperatures to see which city is the coldest of them all. Did your city make the cut?
“No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.”
For the “coldest cities” list, we’re not looking at the cities that have experienced the lowest minimum temperatures, but rather the cities that are the most consistently cold. To find this out, we looked at the cities’ mean annual temperatures over a 30-year period.
Additionally, it may come as no surprise that Alaska performs extremely well in this kind of ranking. To even the playing field and give other states a chance, we’ve narrowed this list down to cities that have a population of at least 10,000.
Without further ado, here’s the ranking!
Top 5 Coldest Cities in the United States
5. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (41.7°F)
Sault Ste. Marie is the second-most populated city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, perched at the eastern tip of Lake Superior and across the St. Marys River from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Being a direct neighbor to Canada is usually a good indicator that it’s going to be cold, so it’s no surprise that Sault Ste. Marie secures the fifth position on our list.
4. Williston, North Dakota (41.5°F)
Perhaps best known for its booming oil industry, which caused the city’s population to double between 2010 and 2020, Williston is located in North Dakota’s northeastern quadrant. Although the city may be considered “hot” in the oil industry, its frigid winters keep its mean temperatures low enough to rank at number four.
3. Grand Forks, North Dakota (39.8°F)
Less than 100 miles north of Fargo lies Grand Forks, which takes third place on our list. Grand Forks’ lowest temperature on record is -43°F and its mean annual temperature doesn’t even crack 40°F!
2. Duluth, Minnesota (39.6°F)
We started this list at the eastern tip of Lake Superior, so it seems appropriate to talk about the other side of the lake, too. On Lake Superior’s western tip is where you’ll find chilly Duluth, which barely edged out Grand Forks by 0.2 degrees to take second in our ranking.
1. Fairbanks, Alaska (27.6°F)
Surprised? Even with our “population of at least 10,000” stipulation, Alaska manages to take the win. The city experiences a mean annual temperature of 27.6°F—that’s below the freezing point! For those interested in records, the lowest temperature on record for Fairbanks is -66°F. Brrr.
Honorable Mention
We would be remiss to not mention one city in particular, as it blew the other cities’ temperatures out of the water but did not meet our population cut-off. This is Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, which has a mean annual temperature of a bone-chilling 11.7°F! Given that it’s the northernmost city in the United States and sits north of the Arctic Circle, the only surprising thing about the city is that nearly 5,000 people are able to call it home!
(Note: This list is based on climate normals data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.)
Other Cold Cities to Watch
To add interest, let’s highlight a few other wintry U.S. cities. If you’re planning any winter vacations, keep an eye on the weather in these places!
Boston, Massachusetts
- Nor’easter storms translate to heavy rainfall, snow, and freezing temperatures. Thanks to the wicked nor’easters, Boston has experienced some of the top blizzards in the past century.
Chicago, Illinois
- The “Windy City” (which isn’t actually that windy) has one of the coldest average temperatures and some of the heaviest snowfalls. Many of the worst storms in history have hit Chicago.
Cleveland, Ohio
- Due to its location near Lake Erie, Cleveland gets hit hard by lake-effect snow, winds, and subzero temperatures.
Detroit, Michigan
- With over 40 inches of snow every winter, on average, Detroit also ranks as one of the coldest U.S. cities.
Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH
- Both midwestern cities have many similarities, including the low normal daily mean temperatures in winter months, many frigid days, and fierce winds.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Not only does this city rank high on snowfall and have low average winter temperatures, but it’s also below freezing on your average winter day.
Snowiest Cities
What about the snowiest places in the country? That’s an entirely separate (but similar) list! See which cities can claim to be the most snowbound: Top 10 Snowiest Cities in the U.S.
The 2023 Winter Forecast!
What about winter 2022/2023? It’s a tale of two winters! One half of the country will deal with bone-chilling cold and loads of snow, while the other half may feel like winter never really arrives. Find out your 2023 Winter Forecast!
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Bemidji, MN
WENT TO UNIVERSITY THERE 79 & 80, two of the coldest winters I’ve spent anywhere. And I grew up in the swampland boonies if northwest Wisconsin.
I grew up in a little town in central Wisconsin called Black River Falls, (Known as BRF to the locals) I remember typically very cold and snowy winters and one where it hit -40 below. We made the national news as the coldest location in the US. We had a thermometer that bottomed out at -40. It blew the mercury out of the bottom so we may have been a bit colder where I lived.
42 below zero at Clearwater Junction Mt. Coldest city : Great Falls Mt. 32 below zero ,Time to retire to Nv. WHAT, 30 below in Winnamucca,ugh
I know that this is a list of >> U.S. Cities, but I suspect Canadians are having a bit of a chuckle. The coldest temperature I've ever personally experienced was -40, in Montréal - and that was the actual temperature, not the wind chill! (-40, by the way, is the same temperature in F and C, but it was small consolation that I didn't have to convert the numbers.)
Have you ever seen the map that shows the line where 50% of Canadians live above and 50% below it? I am pretty sure all of these cities are north of that line.
I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and indeed I laugh at these numbers. We are the northernmost large city in north America at 53 degrees N latitude.
I live in central Maine, and I am shocked that there's not one mention of this state. Although we've had a mild winter for us, I could name several towns here that are pretty sure to take the prize. But let's just start with Carabou, Maine for an example.
The rankings above are based on the consistently coldest cities in January 2019, so while it’s certainly possible that Caribou saw a minimum temp lower than other places, perhaps it was just not quite as consistently cold throughout the month.
Stanley, Idaho is one of the most beautiful places in the country but also one of the very coldest. Situated in the Sawtooth Mountains, near Redfish Lake, its population dwindles way down in the winter. Most people in this small town (population 68) walk to work. Commute time is 5 minutes! :) I only visit there in the summer!
I lived both in Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a far better city for metropolitan 'feel', transportation, and consumer services, but Indianapolis is the far better city in the winter. I think I read Indy has an average daily temp of 40 degrees by late February, and I don't think Milwaukee hits the 40's until well into April! Plus neither Indy or Columbus have "ample snowfall". People writing this don't know what "ample snowfall" is. I've been in Indy for close to 3 years and I've never touched a shovel. If it snows, it's gone in 3 days or so...
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