What Are the Warmest Cities in Iowa?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The three warmest cities in Iowa are Burlington, Davenport, and Bloomfield.
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Iowa.
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 Iowa that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 41 most populous cities in Iowa.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in Iowa
Here are the top 10 warmest places in Iowa ranked by their daily mean temperature. The entire list shared later in a table features 41 cities above 1,000 residents.
1. Burlington – daily mean temperature of 51.9 °F
Burlington, a city of 24,000 people located on the Mississippi River on the border with Illinois, is the warmest place in Iowa. The city gets some of the mildest winters in the state, with average high temperatures of 32-37 °F and average temperatures at night at 16-22 °F. Summer months come with averages between 82-85 °F, with a low temperature around 63-66 °F. The hottest month is July with 85 °F during the day.
2. Davenport – daily mean temperature of 51.2 °F
Davenport is a city of over 100,000 people, located across the Mississippi River from the city of Moline, Illinois, in a metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. Davenport gets nights that are up to 2 degrees colder than in Burlington. The city has about 2,456 sunshine hours, with the cloudiest months of November and December getting sun about 40% of the time and the rest of the year getting at least 50% possible sunshine. Davenport gets 25 days of snow a year.
3. Bloomfield – daily mean temperature of 51.2 °F
The small town of Bloomfield is located in southern Iowa, close to the border with Missouri. It has a climate almost identical to Davenport with slightly cooler summers and 14 fewer days of precipitation a year.
4. Bettendorf – daily mean temperature of 51 °F
Bettendorf, along with Davenport, is one of the Quad Cities. Winters in Bettendorf are colder than in Davenport. The high temperature reaches 29-35 °F and the low temperature drops to 13-20 °F.
5. Des Moines – daily mean temperature of 50.9 °F
Des Moines, the largest city of Iowa, is the fifth warmest city in the state. Summer temperatures climb on average into the 82-86 °F range while winter days see average temperatures of 31-36 °F. Des Moines is sunnier than Davenport because it sees 2,690 sunshine hours a year. This means that you never go long periods without sunny weather. Even in the winter, the sun shines at least 45% of the time. Like Davenport, Des Moines gets 25 days of snow a year.
6. Bedford – daily mean temperature of 50.35 °F
The small town of Bedford is located in the southwestern part of Iowa, close to the border with Missouri. It gets 12 fewer days of snowfall than Des Moines (which is about 119 miles northeast of the town). Temperature-wise, it has similar weather.
7. Clarinda – daily mean temperature of 50.3 °F
Clarinda is located 20 miles west of Bedford. Daytime highs are about a degree higher in Clarinda than in Bedford but nights are colder. This makes Clarinda’s winter days the mildest in the state, along with Centerville ranked tenth.
8. Clinton – daily mean temperature of 50.2 °F
Clinton lies 41 miles northeast of Davenport, also on the Mississippi River. Its winter temperatures during the day are 2-3 degrees lower than in Davenport. Summers are cooler, too, with temperatures between 81-84 °F compared to 83-86 °F in the Quad Cities region.
9. West Des Moines – daily mean temperature of 50 °F
West Des Moines is a part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. According to weather data, its average highs in the winter are up to 4 degrees lower than in Des Moines. Spring temperatures are a degree cooler and summers are the same.
10. Centerville – daily mean temperature of 49.95 °F
Centerville is another city located in South Iowa. Centerville has the lowest dew point temperature in the summer out of all ten cities featured in this ranking. Average low temperatures drop to 59-63 °F. This means that it has slightly more comfortable summers. Other than that, along with Clarinda it has some of the mildest winter temperatures in the state.
41 Biggest Cities in Iowa Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Iowa. When I couldn’t find data for a given city, I moved on to another. While the list includes 41 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 61.3 | 42.5 | 51.9 |
| Davenport | 61.5 | 40.9 | 51.2 |
| Bloomfield | 60.9 | 41.5 | 51.2 |
| Bettendorf | 60 | 42 | 51 |
| Des Moines | 60.5 | 41.3 | 50.9 |
| Bedford | 61 | 39.7 | 50.35 |
| Clarinda | 61.7 | 38.9 | 50.3 |
| Clinton | 59.5 | 40.9 | 50.2 |
| West Des Moines | 60 | 40 | 50 |
| Centerville | 61.4 | 38.5 | 49.95 |
| Albia | 60 | 39.9 | 49.95 |
| Marion | 60.5 | 39.3 | 49.9 |
| Ankeny | 59.9 | 39.2 | 49.55 |
| Ames | 59.5 | 39.4 | 49.45 |
| Corning | 60.4 | 38.4 | 49.4 |
| Atlantic | 61.3 | 37.3 | 49.3 |
| Tipton | 59.3 | 39.3 | 49.3 |
| Waterloo | 59.3 | 38.7 | 49 |
| Iowa City | 59.5 | 38.2 | 48.85 |
| Creston | 60 | 37.6 | 48.8 |
| Columbus Junction | 59.6 | 38 | 48.8 |
| Bellevue | 58.9 | 38.6 | 48.75 |
| Walford | 59 | 38 | 48.5 |
| Sioux City | 59.5 | 37.4 | 48.45 |
| Carroll | 58.7 | 37.9 | 48.3 |
| Cedar Rapids | 58.2 | 38.3 | 48.25 |
| Chariton | 60 | 36.5 | 48.25 |
| Belle Plaine | 58.6 | 37.8 | 48.2 |
| Boone | 58.8 | 37.4 | 48.1 |
| Cascade | 57.8 | 38 | 47.9 |
| Dubuque | 56.4 | 38 | 47.2 |
| Clarion | 58.1 | 36 | 47.05 |
| Audubon | 58 | 36.1 | 47.05 |
| Cherokee | 57.8 | 35.4 | 46.6 |
| Anamosa | 57.7 | 35.4 | 46.55 |
| Charles City | 56 | 37 | 46.5 |
| Algona | 56.8 | 35.1 | 45.95 |
| Mason City | 56 | 35.2 | 45.6 |
| Clear Lake | 56 | 35 | 45.5 |
| Britt | 55.5 | 35.5 | 45.5 |
| Cresco | 54.4 | 33.6 | 44 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Iowa, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Illinois?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Minnesota?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Missouri?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Nebraska?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in South Dakota?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Wisconsin?
Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.
Frequently Asked Questions
The warmest town in Iowa is Burlington in the southeastern corner of the state, on the border with Illinois. Its annual daily mean temperature is 51.9 °F. The city gets some of the mildest winters in the state, with an average high temperature of 32-37 °F on the winter days and 16-22 °F at night.
Iowa doesn’t have warm winters but they aren’t as cold as in neighboring Minnesota. Daily highs hover around freezing point while the average temperature in the coldest months is between 14-22 °F even in the Iowa cities offering the mildest weather.
Iowa is not warm year round. Even the warmest parts of the state experience cold winters with temperatures well below freezing at night as well as several days of snow a month.
Iowa has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons: cold winters, mild spring and fall, and hot summers. Temperatures vary from 30 °F during the day in the cold season to 85 °F in the hot season.