What Are the Warmest Cities in Connecticut?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The three warmest cities in Connecticut are Branford, Bridgeport, and Stamford.
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Connecticut.
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 Connecticut that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 30 most populous cities in Connecticut.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in Connecticut
Here are the top 10 warmest places in Connecticut ranked by their daily mean temperature. The average temperatures between Connecticut cities don’t differ that much. The warmest city in the state is 6.5 °F warmer than the coldest place.
1. Branford – daily mean temperature of 53.5 °F
The warmest city in Connecticut is Branford. It’s located on Long Island Sound, about 8 miles east of New Haven. In the winter, it sees average high temperatures of 38-43 °F and lows of 25-31 °F. In the summer months, daytime temperatures range from 79 to 84 °F while at night they drop to 61-68 °F. July is the hottest month, with average highs of 84 °F.
2. Bridgeport – daily mean temperature of 53.4 °F
Bridgeport is the most populous city in Connecticut and the fifth most populous city in New England. It has a very similar climate to Branford. The coldest month is January, with the average temperature of 38.4 °F during the day and 24.4 °F at night. In the warmest month, July, it has the a slightly lower than Branford average high temperature of 83.4 °F. Bridgeport gets 15 days of snow per year and 125 days of precipitation.
3. Stamford – daily mean temperature of 52.55 °F
Stamford is the second most populous city in Connecticut. Located 40 miles of New York city, it belongs to the New York metropolitan area. Stamford has hotter summers than Branford and Bridgeport, reaching temperatures of 80-85 °F. It also has colder nights, with temperatures up to 2-3 degrees lower than the previous two cities.
4. Groton – daily mean temperature of 52.25 °F
Groton and New London are two cities located on the Thames River. Groton is located on the eastern bank while New London is located on the western bank. Climate data for both places comes from the same place: Groton-New London airport. Groton is a city of 38,000 people. Average temperatures in the winter are between 39-44 °F and drop at night to 24-30 °F. In the summer, Groton and New London have temperatures of 75-81 °F during the day and 67-73 °F at night.
5. New London – daily mean temperature of 52.25 °F
New London is a city of 27,000 people. It has the same average temperature as Groton because climate data comes from the same place. Due to proximity (cities are located across the river from each other), there are no differences in climate between them.
6. New Haven – daily mean temperature of 52.2 °F
At 134,000 residents, New Haven is the third largest city in Connecticut. It’s located on Long Island Sound, 20 miles northeast of Bridgeport. As other cities in the area, it has almost the same climate, with very similar temperatures.
7. Norwich – daily mean temperature of 51.8 °F
Norwich is a city in Eastern Connecticut, located about 14 miles north of Groton and New London. Due to its more inland location, it has cooler winters and hotter summers. The lowest temperature in the coldest month, January, is 37.7 °F during the day and 21.2 °F at night. In the hottest month, July (that also happens to be the driest month), the average temperature during the day is 84.1 °F and 64.8 °F at night.
8. Glastonbury – daily mean temperature of 51.5 °F
The last three cities in this ranking have the same daily mean temperatures of 51.5 °F and are all located near each other, within close distance to Hartford (that would rank twelfth in this ranking). They all get data from the same weather station. With 35,000 residents, Glastonbury is the largest city out of all three. The cities have the coldest winters out of all top ten warmest Connecticut cities. Average highs are 36-41 °F while lows drop to 18-24 °F. In the summer, they have warm weather with temperatures ranging from 79 to 84 °F during the day and 59 to 65 °F at night.
9. South Windsor – daily mean temperature of 51.5 °F
South Windsor is a city of 27,000 people. It’s located 12 miles northeast of Hartford and 16 miles north of Glastonbury.
10. Portland – daily mean temperature of 51.5 °F
Portland is the smallest out of the three cities ranking last on this list. It has about 9,400 residents and is situated 12 miles southwest of Glastonbury.
30 Biggest Cities in Connecticut Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Connecticut. When I couldn’t find data for a given city, I moved on to another. While the list includes 30 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branford | 61 | 46 | 53.5 |
| Bridgeport | 61.1 | 45.7 | 53.4 |
| Stamford | 62.2 | 42.9 | 52.55 |
| Groton | 60 | 44.5 | 52.25 |
| New London | 60 | 44.5 | 52.25 |
| New Haven | 60.5 | 43.9 | 52.2 |
| Norwich | 61.3 | 42.3 | 51.8 |
| Glastonbury | 61 | 42 | 51.5 |
| South Windsor | 61 | 42 | 51.5 |
| Portland | 61 | 42 | 51.5 |
| Danbury | 60.7 | 42 | 51.35 |
| Hartford | 61.1 | 40.9 | 51 |
| Ridgefield | 61 | 41 | 51 |
| Brookfield | 61 | 41 | 51 |
| Meriden | 61 | 40.4 | 50.7 |
| Norwalk | 61 | 40 | 50.5 |
| Greenwich | 59 | 42 | 50.5 |
| New Milford | 61 | 40 | 50.5 |
| Westport | 61 | 40 | 50.5 |
| Simsbury | 61 | 40 | 50.5 |
| Stonington | 59 | 42 | 50.5 |
| Ansonia | 60 | 40.2 | 50.1 |
| East Haven | 60.3 | 39 | 49.65 |
| Waterbury | 60 | 39 | 49.5 |
| Derby | 59 | 40 | 49.5 |
| Windham | 60 | 38.8 | 49.4 |
| Cheshire | 60 | 38 | 49 |
| Tolland | 58.8 | 38.3 | 48.55 |
| Stafford | 58 | 37 | 47.5 |
| Woodbury | 59 | 35 | 47 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Connecticut, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Massachusetts?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in New York?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Rhode Island?
Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.
Frequently Asked Questions
The warmest city in Connecticut is Branford, located on Long Island Sound, about 8 miles east of New Haven. It has an annual daily mean temperature of 53.5 °F. The second warmest place in Connecticut is Bridgeport, with the average temperature of 53.4 °F.
Connecticut has pleasantly warm summer months. The average high temperature is between 78-84 °F while temperatures at night drop to 60-68 °F.
Connecticut is a cold state. The average temperature for the 30 cities I researched for this article is 50.69 °F. That’s lower than the average annual temperature in the United States of 52.7 °F (excluding Hawaii and Alaska). Connecticut isn’t cold year round, though. The state does have warm weather in the summer but at least four months bring cold temperatures.
Connecticut is a cold state with four distinct seasons and none that are overly extreme. If that’s your idea of good weather, then Connecticut indeed has a good climate. If you’re looking for a warm, sunny state, then there are much better options.