What Are the Warmest Cities in Minnesota?
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Minnesota.
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 Minnesota that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 50 most populous cities in Minnesota.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in Minnesota
Here are the top 10 warmest places in Minnesota ranked by their daily mean temperature as provided by the National Weather Service. The differences between these cities aren’t that big but in a state as cold as Minnesota every degree helps, doesn’t it? As expected, Northern Minnesota doesn’t appear anywhere close to the top 10 of the warmest cities.
For the top five cities I also give average winter and summer temperatures.
1. Vadnais Heights – daily mean temperature of 47.15 °F
Vadnais Heights is the hottest city in Minnesota, though its daily mean temperature is only slightly higher than that of Minneapolis in the second place and Winona in the third. Still, if you’re looking for the absolute warmest Minnesota weather, Vadnais Heights is it. This city of 13,000 residents lies 16 miles northeast of downtown Minneapolis and forms a part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Vadnais Heights has mild for Minnesota standards winters. But don’t expect really mild winters. The average temperature during the day is 25-33 °F, while the lows are between 8-16 °F. The city thankfully has relatively hot summers with an average temperature between 80-83 °F during the day and 60-64 °F at night.
Winter temperatures: highs of 25-30 °F, lows of 8-16 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 79-83 °F, lows of 60-64 °F
2. Minneapolis – daily mean temperature of 46.9 °F
Minneapolis, the most populous city in Minnesota, is the second warmest place in the state. According to climate data, it has cooler days but higher nighttime temperatures than Vadnais Heights. As an interesting fact, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Minneapolis was -41 °F so despite being the second warmest city in the state, it can still get brutally cold.
Other than the small difference with nighttime temperatures, the climate in Minneapolis and Vadnais Heights is virtually the same. For that matter, if you’re looking for the best weather in the state, all the top ten cities in this ranking have very small differences between them.
Winter temperatures: highs of 24-29 °F, lows of 9-15 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 79-83 °F, lows of 60-65 °F
3. Winona – daily mean temperature of 46.75 °F
Located in southeastern Minnesota on the Mississippi River, Winona is a city of 26,000 people. Winona has slightly higher winter daytime temperatures than Minneapolis and slightly cooler summers. They’re still Minnesota winters: milder compared to the average in the state but they’re still true cold winters, nonetheless.
Winter temperatures: highs of 25-31 °F, lows of 8-16 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 79-83 °F, lows of 59-63 °F
4. Lakeville – daily mean temperature of 46.65 °F
Lakeville lies 25 miles south of Minneapolis. Like other cities in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, it has a similar climate with small differences. Lakeville has about 73,000 residents and is one of the fastest growing cities in the area.
Winter temperatures: highs of 23-27 °F, lows of 10-18 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 78-83 °F, lows of 60-64 °F
5. Chanhassen – daily mean temperature of 46.5 °F
Chanhassen is situated 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis. If you want to have easier access to outdoor activities by the nearby lakes or parks, this city of 26,000 people may be a good choice for making the most out of the (short) summer.
Winter temperatures: highs of 22-27 °F, lows of 6-12 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 77-81 °F, lows of 58-62 °F
6. Saint Paul – daily mean temperature of 46.45 °F
Saint Paul, the second biggest city of Minnesota, is about a half a degree cooler than Minneapolis. As I mentioned in the introduction to this ranking, the difference is very small. If you’re looking for the best weather in the state, it doesn’t make much of a difference which city you choose, so choose the one where you like to spend time the most. For Minnesota standards, Minneapolis, Saint Paul and other smaller cities in the area offer the friendliest average temperatures.
7. Fairmont – daily mean temperature of 46.15 °F
Fairmont is located in southern Minnesota, close to the border with Iowa. It’s a town of a little over 10,000 people. If you’re looking for a smaller city in the state that isn’t a part of the populous metropolitan area but still offers warm weather, Fairmont (or neighboring towns in the southern part of the state) may be a good choice for you.
8. Woodbury – daily mean temperature of 46.05 °F
Woodbury is a city of 77,000 people, located 8 miles east of Saint Paul. It shares almost the same weather, with slightly lower winter temperatures, warm spring, and hot summer.
9. Farmington – daily mean temperature of 45.7 °F
Farmington lies 28 miles south of Saint Paul, on the outer edges of the metropolitan area. It has 24,000 inhabitants. As the rest of the cities in the area, its daytime temperatures in the winter are between 23-28 °F, with nights dropping to 8-15 °F (the single digits are primarily in January).
10. New Hope – daily mean temperature of 45.65 °F
New Hope is located 13 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Its population is 22,000 people. The tenth city in this ranking is colder by 1.5 degrees than the first place on this list. Compared to the coldest cities in Minnesota such as Duluth on the north shore of Lake Superior or smaller towns in the northern or northwestern part of the state, it’s still a good five degrees warmer.
Video Summary of the Warmest Minnesota Cities
50 Biggest Cities in Minnesota Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Minnesota. 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) |
---|---|---|---|
Vadnais Heights | 56.7 | 37.6 | 47.15 |
Minneapolis | 55.4 | 38.4 | 46.9 |
Winona | 55.9 | 37.6 | 46.75 |
Lakeville | 54.5 | 38.8 | 46.65 |
Chanhassen | 58 | 35 | 46.5 |
Saint Paul | 55.2 | 37.7 | 46.45 |
Fairmont | 55.7 | 36.6 | 46.15 |
Woodbury | 55.5 | 36.6 | 46.05 |
Farmington | 54.6 | 36.8 | 45.7 |
New Hope | 54.9 | 36.4 | 45.65 |
New Ulm | 55.4 | 35.8 | 45.6 |
Bloomington | 55 | 36 | 45.5 |
Mankato | 56 | 35 | 45.5 |
Red Wing | 54.9 | 36 | 45.45 |
Albert Lea | 54.5 | 35.9 | 45.2 |
Hutchinson | 54.6 | 35.8 | 45.2 |
Marshall | 56.5 | 33.7 | 45.1 |
Plymouth | 55 | 35 | 45 |
Owatonna | 54.3 | 35.5 | 44.9 |
Forest Lake | 56.2 | 33.5 | 44.85 |
Little Falls | 56.2 | 33.5 | 44.85 |
Rochester | 54 | 35.6 | 44.8 |
Austin | 53.9 | 35.3 | 44.6 |
Waseca | 54.1 | 35.1 | 44.6 |
Elk River | 54.7 | 34.4 | 44.55 |
Faribault | 54.9 | 34 | 44.45 |
Worthington | 54.5 | 34.3 | 44.4 |
Stillwater | 53.6 | 35 | 44.3 |
Jordan | 53.6 | 34.8 | 44.2 |
Rosemount | 54.2 | 34 | 44.1 |
Chaska | 54 | 34 | 44 |
Hastings | 53 | 35 | 44 |
Buffalo | 53.3 | 34.3 | 43.8 |
Willmar | 53.4 | 34 | 43.7 |
Andover | 54.3 | 32.8 | 43.55 |
St. Cloud | 53.1 | 32.7 | 42.9 |
Alexandria | 51.5 | 33.5 | 42.5 |
Cambridge | 52.9 | 31.6 | 42.25 |
Moorhead | 52.2 | 32.2 | 42.2 |
Brainerd | 52.1 | 30 | 41.05 |
Fergus Falls | 51 | 31 | 41 |
Duluth | 50 | 31.1 | 40.55 |
Grand Rapids | 51.2 | 29 | 40.1 |
Detroit Lakes | 50.7 | 29.5 | 40.1 |
Crookston | 50.6 | 29.5 | 40.05 |
Cloquet | 49.9 | 29.5 | 39.7 |
Thief River Falls | 50.3 | 29.1 | 39.7 |
Bemidji | 49 | 28.4 | 38.7 |
Virginia | 49 | 27 | 38 |
Hibbing | 48.6 | 25.1 | 36.85 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Minnesota, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Iowa?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Michigan?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in North Dakota?
- 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. You may be also interested in the coldest cities in the US.