What Are the Warmest Cities in Colorado?

In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Colorado.

I created my list by researching data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other climate data providers.

Below I’m listing the top 10 warmest places in Colorado that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 50 most populous cities in Colorado.

Top 10 Warmest Cities in Colorado

Here are the top 10 warmest cities in Colorado ranked by their daily mean temperature. While the differences between the top 10 may not be that huge, the differences between these warmest cities and the average for the researched 50 municipalities (47.77 °F) is much more noticeable.

For the top five cities I also give average winter and summer temperatures.

1. La Junta – daily mean temperature of 54.25 °F

Located on the Arkansas River, La Junta is the warmest city in Colorado. It’s warmer than Denver by 3.1 °F and Colorado Springs by 3.8 °F. If you’re looking for the warmest place in Colorado with the highest daily mean temperature, this small city of a little over 7,000 inhabitants is your best option.

Note that the reason why La Junta is first is because in addition to having a milder average winter temperature, it also has hotter summers than other destinations in Colorado. If you’d rather avoid hotter summers, read on for other options.

Winter temperatures: highs of 46-50 °F, lows of 18-21 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 90-95 °F, lows of 58-64 °F

2. Lamar – daily mean temperature of 53.5 °F

Another small city, called Lamar, takes the second spot in the ranking. It’s slightly cooler than La Junta but the difference is barely noticeable during the day. If you’re looking for a small city in Colorado with warm weather, both options will work well. Lamar is further away from the Rocky Mountains, though.

Winter temperatures: highs of 45-49 °F, lows of 14-17 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 89-93 °F, lows of 58-63 °F

3. Grand Junction – daily mean temperature of 53.2 °F

Grand Junction, with over 65,000 inhabitants, is the most populous city in western Colorado. It’s one of the largest and warmest cities in the state. It enjoys plenty of sunny days year round and has a dry, cold semi-arid climate. The average winter temperature during the day in the city is much lower than in the previous two towns (about 38 °F in Grand Junction compared to 45 °F in La Junta and Lamar).

Winter temperatures: highs of 38-46 °F, lows of 17-24 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 89-95 °F, lows of 57-64 °F

4. Northglenn – daily mean temperature of 52.4 °F

Northglenn is a city of 35,000 residents located in the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood metropolitan area. Northglenn has some of the mildest winter temperatures in this ranking as well as cooler summers. Average highs in the coldest month reach 48 °F, with nighttime temperatures dropping to 19 °F. This is warmer than about 45 °F in Denver and Colorado Springs.

Winter temperatures: highs of 48-50 °F, lows of 19-20 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 85-91 °F, lows of 53-59 °F

5. Fruita – daily mean temperature of 52.25 °F

Known for its outdoor recreational opportunities like mountain biking and white-water rafting, Fruita is the fifth warmest city on this list. Like Grand Junction (because it’s a part of its metropolitan area), Fruita has colder winters than other warmest places featured in this list. It also has little precipitation in this already dry state.

Winter temperatures: highs of 39-47 °F, lows of 15-21 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 89-95 °F, lows of 53-60 °F

6. Greeley – daily mean temperature of 52.05 °F

Greeley is a city of over 100,000 inhabitants, conveniently located about an hour drive north of Denver and 40 minutes away from Fort Collins. It’s also about an hour and a half drive from the Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s the second most populous city featured in this ranking. If you’re looking for a bigger warm city in North Colorado, Greeley is a good option to consider.

7. Cañon City – daily mean temperature of 52.05 °F

Cañon City, located close to the renowned Royal Gorge Park, is often described as the warmest place in Colorado, enjoying the best weather in the state. Based on my research, it does have by far the mildest winters, with temperatures reaching almost 50 °F during the day (and 18 °F at night) in the coldest month.

The reason why Cañon City isn’t first in this ranking is that its annual daily mean temperature is lower than for other cities due to having a lower average summer temperature. Of course, if you don’t want the hottest temperature in the summer and prefer cooler weather, Cañon City is going to be a better choice than cities having colder winters but hotter summers.

8. Trinidad – daily mean temperature of 52.05 °F

Trinidad is a small town of a little over 8,000 inhabitants. It’s located on the Purgatoire River in southern Colorado, close to the border with New Mexico. It has the second mildest winters in the state after Cañon City, enjoying average daytime temperatures of 48 °F and 19 °F average lows in January. It also has slightly cooler summers than Cañon City.

9. Pueblo – daily mean temperature of 52 °F

Pueblo is located about an hour drive north of Trinidad and about 40 minutes south of Colorado Springs. With over 110,000 residents, it’s the most populous city in this ranking. Like Trinidad, it has some of the warmest winters in the state. The main difference between Pueblo and Trinidad is that Trinidad has slightly warmer winters and slightly cooler summers than Pueblo.

10. Commerce City – daily mean temperature of 51.53 °F

Commerce City is the second city in this ranking that’s located in the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood metropolitan area. The difference between Commerce City, the tenth warmest place in the state, compared to La Junta, the warmest place in the state, is 2.72 °F. Commerce City is a bit cooler year round, both in the winter and in the summer.

Video Summary of the Warmest Colorado Cities

50 Biggest Cities in Colorado Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature

Colorado Springs, in the middle of the ranking of the warmest places in Colorado

I created the table below by researching data for the 50 most populous municipalities in Colorado. When I couldn’t find data for a given municipality, I moved on to another. While the list includes 50 cities, some of the bigger cities may be missing because there was no data for them. Please check the closest geographically city then.

City	Average high temperature (°F)	Average low temperature (°F)	Daily mean temperature (°F)
La Junta	69.3	39.2	54.25
Lamar	69	38	53.5
Grand Junction	66.6	39.8	53.2
Northglenn	67.4	37.4	52.4
Fruita	67.7	36.8	52.25
Trinidad	67	37.1	52.05
Greeley	67.1	37	52.05
Cañon City	67.6	36.5	52.05
Pueblo	68.7	35.3	52
Commerce City	65.3	37.75	51.53
Montrose	65.2	37.8	51.5
Boulder	65.7	37.3	51.5
Edgewater	67.2	35.7	51.45
Denver	65.1	37.2	51.15
Sterling	66	36	51
Cortez	66	36	51
Fort Collins	64.5	37	50.75
Broomfield	65.1	36.3	50.7
Brighton	65.5	35.8	50.65
Aurora	65	36	50.5
Arvada	66	35	50.5
Lakewood	63	37.9	50.45
Colorado Springs	64.1	36.8	50.45
Wheat Ridge	65.7	34.9	50.3
Englewood	63	37	50
Longmont	65.9	34	49.95
Fort Morgan	65.1	34.5	49.8
Castle Rock	63.7	35.4	49.55
Littleton	63.2	35.4	49.3
Windsor	63.5	34.9	49.2
Rifle	64.4	33.8	49.1
Manitou Springs	62	36	49
Loveland	64.8	32.5	48.65
Parker	63	34	48.5
Brush	63	34	48.5
Durango	63.4	33.6	48.5
Glenwood Springs	61.2	33.1	47.15
Salida	62.8	29.1	45.95
Eagle	57.8	31.4	44.6
Estes Park	55.9	30	42.95
Alamosa	60.3	24.3	42.3
Aspen	55.9	28.5	42.2
Craig	57.9	25.6	41.75
Dacono	59	24	41.5
Steamboat Springs	55.6	23.9	39.75
Woodland Park	53	23	38
Vail	52.3	23.4	37.85
Gunnison	54.8	20.6	37.7
Silverthorne	51.1	20.3	35.7
Breckenridge	48.9	18.1	33.5

Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States

If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Colorado, check out the following articles:

Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.