What Are the Warmest Cities in Missouri?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The warmest cities in Missouri are Sikeston, Kennett, and Poplar Bluff along with Neosho (tie).
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Missouri.
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 Missouri that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 50 most populous cities in Missouri.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in Missouri
Here are the top 10 warmest places in Missouri ranked by their daily mean temperature. While the differences between the top ten cities aren’t that big, the differences between places featuring the warmest temperature and the coldest temperature can be in the range of 5-8 degrees Fahrenheit.
1. Sikeston – daily mean temperature of 59.5 °F
Sikeston, a city of 16,000 people located just north of the Missouri’s Bootheel close to state’s southeastern border, is the warmest city in Missouri. Its average temperature of 59.5 °F makes it on average over 2 degrees warmer than the three largest cities of Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springfield). According to weather data collected over the last decades, Sikeston enjoys mild average temperatures in the winter: 44-49 °F during the day and 28-32 °F at night. In the summer, the state’s warmest city sees temperatures of 89-91 °F during the day and 68-71 °F at night.
Sikeston, along with the next eight cities, dominates my list of the warmest places in the Midwest during winter.
2. Kennett – daily mean temperature of 59.2 °F
Kennett, a tiny town south of Sikeston, at the very southern tip of the Missouri Bootheel, has the warmest annual high temperature at 70.9 °F compared to an average annual high of 69.7 °F in Sikeston. This means that Kennett has warmer days but cooler nights. This is mostly visible in the winter when Kennett gets an average high temperature of 45-50 °F and 26-30 °F at night. So if you want the warmest city during the day, Kennett is a better choice than Sikeston.
3. Poplar Bluff – daily mean temperature of 58.65 °F
Poplar Bluff is the third city located in the same region as the first two cities. Poplar Bluff gets cooler weather throughout the year. Daytime temperatures in the winter are the same as in Sikeston but nights are cooler by 2 degrees. Summers are slightly more comfortable, with average temperatures of 88-91 °F.
4. Neosho – daily mean temperature of 58.65 °F
Neosho is a small city located in the very southwest corner of the state, close to the border with Oklahoma. Neosho enjoys the mildest winter days in this ranking, with temperatures between 46-51 °F. It has cooler summers with temperatures between 85-90 °F.
5. Carthage – daily mean temperature of 58.25 °F
Carthage is situated 26 miles north of Neosho. Despite being relatively close, it doesn’t have the same warm weather in the winter as Neosho. Winter temperatures are on average 1-2 degrees cooler.
6. Joplin – daily mean temperature of 58.1 °F
At 50,000 residents, Joplin is one of the largest cities on this list. Located 17 miles southwest of Carthage, Joplin has almost the same climate. Winter averages are 45-50 °F during the day and 25-29 °F at night. In the summer, it sees average highs of 86-90 °F and average lows of 65-70 °F.
7. Cape Girardeau – daily mean temperature of 57.75 °F
Cape Girardeau is a city of 40,000 people, located on the Mississippi River on the border with Illinois in southeastern Missouri. It has cooler but still mild winter months with temperatures reaching 43-48 °F during the day and dropping to 26-30 °F at night.
8. Branson – daily mean temperature of 57.5 °F
Branson has one of the most moderate climates out of the warmest places in Missouri. It enjoys mild winters with temperatures of 43-49 °F during the day and 27-30 °F at night. Summers in Branson are more comfortable, with average highs of 84-88 °F and lows of 64-69 °F. If you want to enjoy moderate winters and cooler summers, Branson may offer the best weather for your preferences.
9. Springfield – daily mean temperature of 57.4 °F
Springfield, the third largest city in Missouri, has the same annual daily mean temperature as St. Louis. But Springfield has a higher average high temperature so it ranks ninth. Average temperatures in Springfield have similar ranges to previous cities: 44-50 °F on a winter day, 24-28 °F at night, and 85-90 °F on a summer day and 65-69 °F at night. According to climate data, Springfield enjoys 2,690 sunshine hours a year with sun shining 50% of the time even in the coldest months.
10. St. Louis – daily mean temperature of 57.4 °F
The second largest city in Missouri is the tenth warmest city in the state. St. Louis has by far the coldest winter days out of all ten cities in this ranking. Temperatures are between 40-45 °F which is much lower than 45-50 °F in most cities presented before. Nights are similarly cold as in other places, dropping to 24-29 °F. The city is also the snowiest out of all on this list, having on average 14-15 days of snow a year. St. Louis gets slightly less sun than Springfield, recording 2,593 sunshine hours a year. If you want to live in a big city in Missouri, both Springfield and St. Louis offer some of the highest temperatures in the state.
50 Biggest Cities in Missouri Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Missouri. When I couldn’t find weather 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sikeston | 69.7 | 49.3 | 59.5 |
| Kennett | 70.4 | 48 | 59.2 |
| Poplar Bluff | 69 | 48.3 | 58.65 |
| Neosho | 69.3 | 48 | 58.65 |
| Carthage | 69.2 | 47.3 | 58.25 |
| Joplin | 68.8 | 47.4 | 58.1 |
| Cape Girardeau | 68 | 47.5 | 57.75 |
| Branson | 67.3 | 47.7 | 57.5 |
| Springfield | 68.1 | 46.7 | 57.4 |
| St. Louis | 66.8 | 48 | 57.4 |
| Jackson | 67.4 | 46.5 | 56.95 |
| Union | 68.4 | 45.5 | 56.95 |
| Kansas City | 66.3 | 47.5 | 56.9 |
| Monett | 67.3 | 46.2 | 56.75 |
| Hazelwood | 66 | 47 | 56.5 |
| Ferguson | 66 | 47 | 56.5 |
| Rolla | 66.4 | 46.2 | 56.3 |
| Ozark | 67.9 | 44.4 | 56.15 |
| Farmington | 67.4 | 44.8 | 56.1 |
| Nevada | 66.6 | 45.6 | 56.1 |
| Columbia | 65.9 | 46.1 | 56 |
| Bolivar | 67.3 | 44.6 | 55.95 |
| Lebanon | 66.8 | 44.9 | 55.85 |
| Festus | 66.6 | 44.9 | 55.75 |
| Boonville | 65.6 | 45.7 | 55.65 |
| West Plains | 67.3 | 43.9 | 55.6 |
| St. Charles | 65.8 | 45.2 | 55.5 |
| Jefferson City | 65.7 | 45.1 | 55.4 |
| Ellisville | 66.8 | 43.9 | 55.35 |
| Perryville | 66.6 | 43.5 | 55.05 |
| St. Peters | 66 | 44 | 55 |
| Warrensburg | 66.7 | 43.1 | 54.9 |
| Washington | 66 | 43.7 | 54.85 |
| Lee's Summit | 65 | 44 | 54.5 |
| O'Fallon | 65 | 44 | 54.5 |
| Blue Springs | 64 | 45 | 54.5 |
| Mexico | 64.8 | 43.7 | 54.25 |
| Moberly | 64 | 44.4 | 54.2 |
| Marshall | 64.2 | 43.7 | 53.95 |
| Sedalia | 64.3 | 43.2 | 53.75 |
| St. Joseph | 64.8 | 42.5 | 53.65 |
| Independence | 64 | 43 | 53.5 |
| Fulton | 63.4 | 43.4 | 53.4 |
| Hannibal | 62.4 | 43.6 | 53 |
| Smithville | 63.3 | 42.7 | 53 |
| Chillicothe | 62.9 | 42.3 | 52.6 |
| Cameron | 63 | 42.1 | 52.55 |
| Kearney | 62.9 | 42 | 52.45 |
| Maryville | 62.4 | 40.4 | 51.4 |
| Kirksville | 61.6 | 41.1 | 51.35 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Missouri, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Arkansas?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Illinois?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Iowa?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Kansas?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Kentucky?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Nebraska?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Oklahoma?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Tennessee?
Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Southeastern corner of Missouri is the warmest part of the state. The top three warmest places in Missouri are there: Sikeston, Kennett, and Poplar Bluff. The southwestern part is also warm, with cities like Neosho and Carthage. Compared to Kansas City, the first three cities have on average temperatures higher by 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit higher.
Neosho has the highest average temperature during the day in winter. Between December and February, temperatures reach 46-51 °F. At night, temperatures drop to 25-29 °F. As a curious fact, the hottest temperature recorded in Neosho was incredibly warm 79 °F in December, 78 °F in January and 87 °F in February.
Branson has one of the least extreme climates in Missouri. It has mild winters with temperatures of 43-49 °F during the day and 27-30 °F at night. Summers in Branson are cooler than in other warm cities of Missouri, with an average high temperature of 84-88 °F. Average rainfall in Branson is higher than in, for example, Kansas City, though. Branson records over 48 inches of rain a year compared to 38 in Kansas City.
Missouri has four seasons, though the warmest parts of Missouri, particularly in the southeast corner of the state (as well as the entire southern part) get very little snowfall, with just 2-3 days of snow. In the coldest parts of the state, snow falls about 10-14 days a year. Missouri has moderate winters, warm spring and fall, and hot summer.