Climate change is causing heat waves to be even hotter and more common across the United States. Daily record-high temperatures from 2000 to 2009 were documented twice as frequently as record-lows, while those areas in the country with an excess of nine extreme-heat days experienced more such days than in the past.
On a global scale, a New York Times analysis of data released by NASA and the NOAA has shown that the last eight years are the hottest on record. Overall, cold days are becoming less frequent. Yet despite that fact, occurrences of unseasonable cold, as well as cooling trends in some regions of the country, still dot the national map.
Stacker ranked more than 900 counties in the 10 coldest states in the continental U.S. to find the warmest based on average temperature between May 2022 and April 2023, citing National Centers for Environmental Information data. The warmest states are Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. Ties are broken based on the average low temperature. North Carolina counties dominate the forthcoming list, thanks to the mountainous terrain.
Keep reading to discover which counties rank the coldest in the 10 warmest U.S. states.
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#50. Stokes County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 59.3 F (1.9 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.3 F
– Average low: 48.3 F
– #2001 coldest county nationally
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#49. Baxter County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 59.3 F (3.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 71.1 F
– Average low: 47.5 F
– #1997 coldest county nationally
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#48. Alexander County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 59.3 F (1.9 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.7 F
– Average low: 47.9 F
– #1993 coldest county nationally
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#47. Fulton County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 59.2 F (3.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.9 F
– Average low: 47.5 F
– #1989 coldest county nationally
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#46. Benton County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 59.2 F (3.3 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 71.1 F
– Average low: 47.3 F
– #1983 coldest county nationally
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#45. Hansford County, Texas
– Average temperature: 59.2 F (8.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.8 F
– Average low: 44.6 F
– #1981 coldest county nationally
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#44. Harper County, Oklahoma
– Average temperature: 59.1 F (2.5 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.6 F
– Average low: 44.6 F
– #1975 coldest county nationally
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#43. Yadkin County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 59.1 F (2.1 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.8 F
– Average low: 47.4 F
– #1970 coldest county nationally
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#42. Boone County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 59.1 F (3.4 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.8 F
– Average low: 47.3 F
– #1967 coldest county nationally
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#41. Parmer County, Texas
– Average temperature: 59.1 F (8.4 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.7 F
– Average low: 44.4 F
– #1968 coldest county nationally
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#40. Ochiltree County, Texas
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (8.6 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.3 F
– Average low: 44.4 F
– #1952 coldest county nationally
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#39. Caldwell County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (2.3 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.7 F
– Average low: 47.0 F
– #1950 coldest county nationally
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#38. Gilmer County, Georgia
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (7.0 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.0 F
– Average low: 47.6 F
– #1947 coldest county nationally
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#37. Searcy County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (3.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.7 F
– Average low: 47.8 F
– #1944 coldest county nationally
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#36. Carroll County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (3.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.4 F
– Average low: 47.1 F
– #1939 coldest county nationally
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#35. Deaf Smith County, Texas
– Average temperature: 58.8 F (8.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.3 F
– Average low: 44.2 F
– #1941 coldest county nationally
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#34. Oldham County, Texas
– Average temperature: 58.7 F (8.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.3 F
– Average low: 44.2 F
– #1937 coldest county nationally
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#33. Lipscomb County, Texas
– Average temperature: 58.7 F (8.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.3 F
– Average low: 44.1 F
– #1931 coldest county nationally
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#32. Wilkes County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 58.5 F (2.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.9 F
– Average low: 47.1 F
– #1906 coldest county nationally
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#31. Madison County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 58.5 F (4.0 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.6 F
– Average low: 47.3 F
– #1897 coldest county nationally
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#30. Beaver County, Oklahoma
– Average temperature: 58.5 F (3.1 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.2 F
– Average low: 43.7 F
– #1900 coldest county nationally
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#29. McDowell County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 58.4 F (2.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.6 F
– Average low: 47.3 F
– #1896 coldest county nationally
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#28. Surry County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 58.4 F (2.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.0 F
– Average low: 46.8 F
– #1890 coldest county nationally
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#27. Newton County, Arkansas
– Average temperature: 58.3 F (4.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 68.8 F
– Average low: 47.8 F
– #1883 coldest county nationally
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#26. Rabun County, Georgia
– Average temperature: 58.2 F (7.6 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.1 F
– Average low: 47.4 F
– #1869 coldest county nationally
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#25. Sherman County, Texas
– Average temperature: 58.1 F (9.3 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 73.1 F
– Average low: 43.2 F
– #1863 coldest county nationally
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#24. Fannin County, Georgia
– Average temperature: 57.8 F (8.0 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.5 F
– Average low: 46.0 F
– #1828 coldest county nationally
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#23. Texas County, Oklahoma
– Average temperature: 57.7 F (3.9 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 72.9 F
– Average low: 42.5 F
– #1816 coldest county nationally
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#22. Union County, Georgia
– Average temperature: 57.6 F (8.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.3 F
– Average low: 45.8 F
– #1795 coldest county nationally
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#21. Towns County, Georgia
– Average temperature: 57.5 F (8.4 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.1 F
– Average low: 45.9 F
– #1773 coldest county nationally
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#20. Cherokee County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 57.3 F (3.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 69.8 F
– Average low: 44.9 F
– #1755 coldest county nationally
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#19. Hartley County, Texas
– Average temperature: 57.3 F (10.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 72.1 F
– Average low: 42.4 F
– #1740 coldest county nationally
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#18. Clay County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 56.4 F (4.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 68.2 F
– Average low: 44.5 F
– #1608 coldest county nationally
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#17. Henderson County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 56.2 F (4.9 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 66.3 F
– Average low: 46.1 F
– #1591 coldest county nationally
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#16. Madison County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 56.1 F (5.0 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 66.9 F
– Average low: 45.3 F
– #1582 coldest county nationally
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#15. Dallam County, Texas
– Average temperature: 55.9 F (11.6 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 71.5 F
– Average low: 40.3 F
– #1555 coldest county nationally
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#14. Buncombe County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 55.5 F (5.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 66.2 F
– Average low: 44.8 F
– #1506 coldest county nationally
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#13. Graham County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 55.3 F (5.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 66.8 F
– Average low: 43.9 F
– #1484 coldest county nationally
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#12. Macon County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 55.1 F (6.1 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 66.2 F
– Average low: 44.0 F
– #1462 coldest county nationally
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#11. Cimarron County, Oklahoma
– Average temperature: 55.1 F (6.5 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 70.9 F
– Average low: 39.3 F
– #1460 coldest county nationally
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#10. Transylvania County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 55.1 F (6.1 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 65.1 F
– Average low: 45.0 F
– #1456 coldest county nationally
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#9. Alleghany County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 54.0 F (7.2 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 64.4 F
– Average low: 43.6 F
– #1333 coldest county nationally
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#8. Jackson County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 53.6 F (7.6 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 64.4 F
– Average low: 42.9 F
– #1295 coldest county nationally
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#7. Swain County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 53.3 F (7.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 64.0 F
– Average low: 42.7 F
– #1250 coldest county nationally
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#6. Mitchell County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 52.8 F (8.4 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 63.4 F
– Average low: 42.2 F
– #1180 coldest county nationally
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#5. Yancey County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 52.6 F (8.5 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 63.1 F
– Average low: 42.2 F
– #1155 coldest county nationally
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#4. Watauga County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 52.5 F (8.7 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 62.9 F
– Average low: 42.1 F
– #1139 coldest county nationally
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#3. Ashe County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 52.4 F (8.8 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 63.0 F
– Average low: 41.7 F
– #1126 coldest county nationally
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#2. Haywood County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 52.2 F (8.9 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 62.2 F
– Average low: 42.2 F
– #1108 coldest county nationally
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#1. Avery County, North Carolina
– Average temperature: 51.7 F (9.4 F lower than state average)
– Average high: 61.6 F
– Average low: 41.9 F
– #1037 coldest county nationally