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Climate in California: Average Weather by City
California spans more climate variety than most states, and its city normals prove it. The warmest city we track, Fresno, averages 65.0°F across the year, while the coolest, Eureka, averages 52.6°F — a gap of 12.4°F inside one state. Rainfall runs from 9.8 in a year in San Diego to 40.4 in in Eureka. This page compares every California city in our dataset side by side using the same yardstick — the official NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from each city's representative weather station — so you can pick the corner of the state that fits the weather you actually want, and the month to go see it.
California cities compared
Every California city in the dataset, ranked by yearly mean temperature. Click a city for its full month-by-month normals, season-by-season analysis, and best months to visit.
| City | Yearly Mean (°F) | Avg High | Avg Low | Rain (in/yr) | Snow (in/yr) | Warmest | Coldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno | 65.0 | 76.3 | 53.7 | 10.99 | 0.0 | Jul | Dec |
| San Diego | 64.7 | 70.9 | 58.5 | 9.79 | — | Aug | Dec |
| Los Angeles | 63.6 | 70.6 | 56.6 | 12.23 | — | Aug | Dec |
| Redding | 63.4 | 76.6 | 50.2 | 33.52 | 2.6 | Jul | Dec |
| Sacramento | 63.4 | 75.7 | 51.1 | 19.20 | 0.0 | Jul | Dec |
| San Jose | 60.7 | 71.2 | 50.2 | 13.48 | — | Aug | Dec |
| Santa Barbara | 59.3 | 69.2 | 49.4 | 17.25 | — | Aug | Dec |
| San Francisco | 57.7 | 64.1 | 51.3 | 22.89 | — | Sep | Jan |
| Eureka | 52.6 | 59.2 | 46.0 | 40.40 | 0.0 | Aug | Dec |
Fresno is California's warm pole. Its year-round mean of 65.0°F peaks in July at 83.5°F and never drops below a 47.5°F mean in December. It collects 11.0 in of precipitation a year. For the full month-by-month profile, see the Fresno climate page.
Eureka anchors the cool end. With a yearly mean of 52.6°F, a coldest month (December) averaging 47.4°F, and a warmest month that reaches only 58.5°F, it offers the state's most pronounced seasons — a swing of 11.1°F between its coldest and warmest months. Its profile is on the Eureka climate page.
Rain, snow, and when to visit
Rain is its own map. Eureka is California's wettest tracked city at 40.4 in a year — 4.1 times the 9.8 in that San Diego, the driest, receives. For snow, Redding leads the state at 2.6 in a year. Anyone choosing where in California to live should weigh those totals as heavily as temperature: they decide everything from flood exposure to how many grey weeks a winter holds.
When to go where: Los Angeles peaks in July; San Francisco peaks in July; San Diego peaks in July; San Jose peaks in July; Sacramento peaks in May; Fresno peaks in May; Santa Barbara peaks in July; Redding peaks in May; Eureka peaks in July. Each city's own page ranks all twelve of its months by the same comfort score — mild mean temperatures rewarded, heavy rain and snow penalized — so the recommendation is always traceable to the normals table rather than to anyone's opinion, ours included.
California climate FAQ
What is the warmest city in California?
Of the California cities in our dataset, Fresno is warmest with a yearly mean of 65.0°F (1991–2020 normals); Eureka is coolest at 52.6°F.
What is the wettest city in California?
Eureka averages the most precipitation, 40.40 in a year; the driest is San Diego at 9.79 in.
Where in California has the mildest climate?
By annual temperature swing, San Francisco is the most even-keeled, varying just 10.7°F between its coldest and warmest months, while Redding swings 36.8°F.
Source: 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) — ncei.noaa.gov. One representative station per city; station names and IDs are listed on each city page. Figures checked October 2026.