What Are the Warmest Cities in Illinois?

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

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 Illinois that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 50 most populous cities in Illinois.

Top 10 Warmest Cities in Illinois

Here are the top 10 warmest places in Illinois ranked by their daily mean temperature. The average annual temperatures in Illinois differ by 10 °F between the warmest city and the coldest city but only by about 3-4 °F between the top ten cities.

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

1. Belleville – daily mean temperature of 57.65 °F

Belleville is a city of 42,000 people. Due to its location close to St. Louis, it belongs to the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. According to weather data collected by NOAA, Belleville is by far the warmest city in Illinois. The average high temperature in the winter in Belleville is 43-49 °F, while nighttime temperatures drop to 24-48 °F. The city gets 7 days of snow a year, with winter precipitation lower than in the summer months.

Between June and August Belleville experiences the hottest daytime temperatures in Illinois. They reach 87-90 °F on average, so any potential heat wave may bring unbearably hot weather. Nighttime temperatures drop to 65-68 °F.

Winter temperatures: highs of 43-49 °F, lows of 24-28 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 87-90 °F, lows of 65-68 °F

2. Carbondale – daily mean temperature of 56 °F

Carbondale is the most southerly located city on this list. With 25,000 residents, it’s the biggest city in Southern Illinois outside of the cities neighboring St. Louis. Compared to Belleville, Carbondale has year round temperatures that are lower by 1-2 degrees. This means cooler winters but also more comfortable summers. Carbondale gets 21 days of rainfall more than Belleville.

Winter temperatures: highs of 41-46 °F, lows of 23-27 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 85-88 °F, lows of 64-68 °F

3. Alton – daily mean temperature of 55.7 °F

Alton is situated 35 miles northwest of Belleville and lies on the Mississippi River. It has a much more moderate climate than Belleville. In the winter, the average temperature in the coldest month reaches 40 °F (compared to 43 °F in Belleville). In the summer, in the hottest month the average temperature is 87 °F (compared to 90 °F in Belleville).

Winter temperatures: highs of 40-44 °F, lows of 22-27 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 84-87 °F, lows of 66-69 °F

4. Charleston – daily mean temperature of 55.05 °F

Charleston is a city of 17,000 people. It’s located in Eastern Illinois and forms a metropolitan area with Mattoon, a similarly sized city 12 miles west (though close, they don’t share their average annual temperatures). Charleston has similarly hot summers to Carbondale but it has colder winters, with average highs of 38-43 °F.

Winter temperatures: highs of 38-43 °F, lows of 21-26 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 86-88 °F, lows of 63-66 °F

5. Mount Vernon – daily mean temperature of 54.5 °F

Mount Vernon is situated 59 miles northeast of Carbondale, still in the southern region of the state. This city of 15,000 people has winter temperatures similar to Charleston, with summers that are cooler at 82-86 °F.

Winter temperatures: highs of 39-44 °F, lows of 22-26 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 82-86 °F, lows of 64-67 °F

6. Springfield – daily mean temperature of 54.05 °F

The sixth most populous city in Illinois, Springfield, is located in Central Illinois. It sees even cooler winter temperatures, between 36-41 °F, while summers are similar to other cities, with average high temperatures of 84-87 °F. Annual precipitation in Springfield is one of the lowest in this ranking, at 38 inches of rainfall a year. The city gets more days of snowfall, though, at 16 days a year. Springfield enjoys 2,665 sunshine hours a year, with sunny weather conditions even in the coldest months.

7. Quincy – daily mean temperature of 53.75 °F

Quincy, a city of 40,000 people located in Western Illinois on the border with Missouri, has even cooler winters than Springfield, with temperatures between 35-40 °F. It has similar temperatures in the hottest months of June, July, and August.

8. Mattoon – daily mean temperature of 53.6 °F

Mattoon, the city already mentioned along with Charleston, is noticeably cooler than its neighbor. In the winter, it sees average highs of 35-40 °F and lows of 20-25 °F. In Charleston, these temperatures are 38-43 °F and 21-26 °F respectively.

9. Danville – daily mean temperature of 53.1 °F

Danville is a city of 30,000 residents. It’s located in Eastern Illinois, on the border with Indiana, 138 miles south of Chicago. Danville sees temperatures similar to Mattoon, with the only difference notable at night (temperatures are 1-2 degrees lower).

10. Decatur – daily mean temperature of 53 °F

Decatur, a city of 70,000 people, lies 41 miles east of Springfield. It follows the trend of progressively colder winters as we move down the list, seeing average high temperatures of 34-39 °F during the day and 20-25 °F at night. It also has the coolest summers out of all ten cities in this ranking, with highs of 82-85 °F and lows of 63-67 °F. While Decatur is ranked tenth, it’s still much warmer than the coldest places located in Northern Illinois that get average annual temperatures that are up to 5 degrees lower.

Video Summary of the Warmest Illinois Cities

50 Biggest Cities in Illinois Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature

Springfield is the sixth warmest city in Illinois

I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Illinois. When I couldn’t find data for a given city, 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)
Belleville	68.9	46.4	57.65
Carbondale	66.8	45.2	56
Alton	65	46.4	55.7
Charleston	65.6	44.5	55.05
Mount Vernon	64.2	44.8	54.5
Springfield	64.1	44	54.05
Quincy	63.4	44.1	53.75
Mattoon	62.9	44.3	53.6
Danville	63.1	43.1	53.1
Decatur	61.9	44.1	53
Peoria	62.4	43	52.7
Jacksonville	63.8	41.6	52.7
Chicago	60.5	44.4	52.45
Champaign	62.1	42.6	52.35
Glenview	61	43	52
Urbana	61.7	41.7	51.7
Moline	61.5	40.9	51.2
Kankakee	61	41.4	51.2
Wheaton	61.6	40.6	51.1
Normal	62.1	40	51.05
Downers Grove	62	40	51
Romeoville	60.4	41.3	50.85
Joliet	59.5	41.2	50.35
Rock Island	60.2	40.5	50.35
Aurora	59.3	41.1	50.2
Bloomington	60	40.4	50.2
Galesburg	59.7	40.7	50.2
Ottawa	59.6	40.8	50.2
Park Forest	59.3	40.3	49.8
West Chicago	59.2	40.2	49.7
Streamwood	61.3	37.8	49.55
New Lenox	60	39	49.5
Dixon	58.7	40.2	49.45
Rockford	58.8	40	49.4
Buffalo Grove	56	42.6	49.3
Lisle	59.6	38.8	49.2
Elgin	59	39.1	49.05
Northbrook	58	40	49
DeKalb	57.9	39.2	48.55
Naperville	59	38	48.5
Park Ridge	58	39	48.5
Waukegan	57	39.9	48.45
Antioch	57.2	39	48.1
Arlington Heights	57	39	48
Crystal Lake	58	38	48
McHenry	57	39	48
Mundelein	57.2	38.7	47.95
Freeport	57.6	37.8	47.7
Wheeling	58.4	36.9	47.65
Vernon Hills	58.4	36.9	47.65

Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States

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

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