What Are the Warmest Cities in Minnesota?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The three warmest cities in Minnesota are Vadnais Heights, Minneapolis, and Winona.
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. The differences between these cities aren’t that big but in a state as cold as Minnesota every degree helps, doesn’t it?
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. It has mild for Minnesota standards winters (with highs of 26-31 °F and lows of 7-13 °F) and hot summers with an average temperature between 80-85 °F during the day and 60-64 °F at night.
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. Other than that, the climate in both cities is virtually the same. For that matter, if you’re looking for the best weather in the state, all top ten cities in this ranking have very little differences between them.
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.
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 shares virtually the same climate with almost imperceptible differences. Lakeville has about 73,000 residents and is one of the fastest growing cities in the area.
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.
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
The warmest city in Minnesota is Vadnais Heights, located 16 miles northeast of Minneapolis which is the second warmest city in the state. Neither of the cities has warm weather year round, though. Minnesota is a state with four distinct seasons.
Winters in Minnesota are long and very cold. Even during the middle of the day, they’re usually well below the freezing point. Such temperatures are also standard even in the warmest cities of Minnesota like Minneapolis with 24-29 °F during winter days and 9-15 °F at night. Thankfully, sun still shines at least 50% of the time in January and February.
Winters in Minnesota, defined by freezing temperatures anytime during the day, last roughly between October and April, with snow possible in the same months, too.
Minnesota is the third coldest state in the United States, after Alaska (check the warmest cities in Alaska) and North Dakota.