I created this graphic using Excel to compare the average annual sunlight hours of many US cities. Wikipedia uses NOAA data, but the year range varies between the cities (usually 1960-2020) and I had trouble finding the original source data. A handful of larger cities did not have data and weren't included like Orlando.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_cities\_by\_sunshine\_duration and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United\_States\_weatherbox\_templates

Posted by TA-MajestyPalm

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  1. TA-MajestyPalm on

    I created this graphic using Excel as I thought it would be interesting to see how sunny (or not sunny) different US cities are. Wikipedia uses NOAA data, but the year range varies between the cities (usually 1960-2020) and I had trouble finding the original source data. A handful of larger cities did not have data and weren’t included like Orlando.

    Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_sunshine_duration and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:United_States_weatherbox_templates

  2. Woooow I love the way the data is calculated and displayed!! Average hours per day is a super intuitive metric. Well done. 

  3. ThePolemicist on

    I’m surprised San Francisco is up so high. Having lived in Denver for a long time, I know it’s a very sunny place with little cloud cover. I haven’t spent much time in San Francisco, but I always picture San Francisco being more cloudy and cool. When I went the first time, I thought, “Oooh, California, warm!” It was August but still cool, and my shorts and Ts wouldn’t cut it. I had to buy a souvenir hoodie.

    Edit: Yes, everything I’m reading mentions that San Francisco is more known for foggy days, and cities like San Diego are much sunnier. I’m wondering if San Francisco’s location on the sunshine list is a mistake. I don’t think it has more sunshine than San Diego and SLC…

  4. If installing solar panels on my home in Pittsburgh makes financial sense, what the heck is the rest of the country waiting for? Y’all have it made!

  5. CriticalandPragmatic on

    NYC is tricky because you can live in apartments that get 0 minutes of direct sunlight per day