What Are the Warmest Cities in Texas?

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

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

Top 10 Warmest Cities in Texas

Here are the top 10 warmest cities in Texas ranked by their daily mean temperature. The top five hottest cities are all located in the same region, so any smaller towns or cities in the area are likely to have the same hot climate, too.

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

1. McAllen – daily mean temperature of 77.35 °F

By far the hottest city of Texas is McAllen in South Texas, located on the border with Mexico. McAllen features a hot semi-arid climate with an extremely long warm season and some of the warmest winters in the entire United States (with daily high temperature in the coldest months of at least 73 °F).

If you’re looking for a place that’s warm year round and isn’t in South Florida, McAllen is one of your best options. Note that summers may bring extreme heat, particularly during a heat wave when temperatures may climb over 100 °F. But the average summer temperature is also extremely high and may be unbearable for most people who aren’t used to it.

For more on hot weather in Texas, read my article How Hot Does Texas Get?

Also, note that while McAllen has the highest average annual temperature, some areas of Texas get much hotter during the summer. The hottest place in Texas in the summer, Castolon in Big Bend National Park, records average temperatures climbing to 102-104 °F. This is the mean maximum temperature of McAllen.

Winter temperatures: highs of 73-77 °F, lows of 53-57 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 97-100 °F, lows of 78-79 °F

2. Brownsville – daily mean temperature of 76.25 °F

According to the National Weather Service data, the second of the hottest cities in Texas is Brownsville. It’s located on the Western Gulf Coast, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. It’s so close to the Tropic of Cancer that its humid subtropical climate borders a tropical savanna climate. The city is slightly cooler than McAllen in the summer which is why it’s the second hottest city in the Lone Star State. Humidity-wise, it’s much more humid, so air conditioning is a must the entire year.

Winter temperatures: highs of 73-76 °F, lows of 53-57 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 94-96 °F, lows of 77-78 °F

3. Laredo – daily mean temperature of 74.95 °F

Laredo takes the third place in the ranking of the hottest cities in Texas, with temperatures just barely higher than Harlingen on the fourth spot. Laredo, like McAllen, has a hot semi-arid climate, and is also located on the border with Mexico. Laredo has hotter summers than McAllen. The normal mid summer high is about 100-101 °F compared to 98-99 °F in McAllen. In exchange for scorching heat in the summer, Laredo has cooler winters.

Winter temperatures: highs of 68-74 °F, lows of 47-52 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 99-101 °F, lows of 76-77 °F

4. Harlingen – daily mean temperature of 74.7 °F

When you look at annual daily mean temperatures, Harlingen is only slightly cooler than Laredo. But when you look at the winter temperatures, Harlingen is warmer than Laredo. It’s Laredo’s hot summers that result in a higher annual average. Another difference between these two cities is that Harlingen has more precipitation, which qualifies it for a humid subtropical climate compared to the semi-arid one in Laredo.

Winter temperatures: highs of 72-76 °F, lows of 51-55 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 95-98 °F, lows of 76-77 °F

5. Edinburg – daily mean temperature of 74 °F

Edinburg is only about 12 miles north of McAllen. The weather station’s data indicates the difference is big enough that the average daily mean temperature in Edinburg is 3.35 °F lower. Edinburg has both cooler winters (though still has some of the hottest temperatures in the winter in the state) and cooler summers.

Winter temperatures: highs of 70-74 °F, lows of 48-51 °F

Summer temperatures: highs of 95-97 °F, lows of 75-76 °F

6. Corpus Christi – daily mean temperature of 72.95 °F

The eighth biggest city in Texas, Corpus Christi, is about 140 miles southeast of San Antonio. Corpus Christi is the first hottest place in Texas that’s not located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The city is located by the Corpus Christi Bay and is sheltered from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island and Padre Island (one of the best places in Texas for camping). It enjoys spring-like winters and summers that are a little bit cooler than in the previous featured places.

7. Galveston – daily mean temperature of 71.3 °F

The second hottest place in Texas outside of the Lower Rio Grande Valley is Galveston, a coastal resort located on an island on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Its average high temperatures in the summer are more comfortable than in other cities in this ranking. For example, in the hottest month, Galveston sees daily high temperatures of about 90 °F compared to 95 °F in Corpus Christi, 96 °F in Brownsville, and 100 °F in McAllen. Considering the humidity, Galveston still brings scorching heat in the warmest months but for Texas standards, it’s cooler.

8. Del Rio – daily mean temperature of 71.2 °F

Located in southwestern Texas close to the border with Mexico and the Amistad Reservoir, Del Rio has a hot semi-arid climate like McAllen and Laredo. This means that the city has some of the hottest summers in the state. Del Rio has about 35,000 residents and is the smallest city in this ranking.

9. Houston – daily mean temperature of 70.5 °F

Houston, the most populous city in Texas, is the ninth warmest city in this ranking. It’s noticeably cooler than the hottest cities featured before and may occasionally have spells of cold weather. But on average, it’s still warmer than other major cities in the state.

Compared to San Antonio, the second most populous city in Texas, Houston isn’t that much warmer. San Antonio’s annual daily mean temperature is 69.6 °F which means it’s just 0.9 °F lower than in Houston.

The difference is more pronounced for Dallas (which is 2.5 °F colder than Houston and 1.6 °F colder than San Antonio) or for El Paso (which is 4.3 °F colder than Houston and 3.4 °F colder than San Antonio).

Due to the combination of immense humidity and hot weather, Houston during heat waves may have some of the most intolerable weather conditions in the Lone Star State. The heat index may climb to 130 °F.

10. Victoria – daily mean temperature of 70.2 °F

A small city of Victoria, located about 30 miles inland from the Gulf Coast, closes our ranking of the top 10 warmest Texas cities. The difference between the hottest city in Texas, McAllen, and the tenth hottest place in Texas is a very noticeable 7.15 °F. To illustrate this, McAllen enjoys winters with daily highs of 73 °F while Victoria only reaches 65 °F. Austin would be the next city on our list, with the annual average temperature of 69.95 °F, just a tiny bit cooler than Victoria.

Video Summary of the Warmest Texas Cities

50 Biggest Cities in Texas Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature

Galveston is the seventh warmest city in Texas

I created the table below by researching data for the 50 most populous municipalities in Texas. When I couldn’t find data for a given municipality, I moved on to another. While the list includes 50 cities, some of the bigger cities may be missing because there was no National Weather Service data for them. Please check the closest geographically city then.

City	Average high temperature (°F)	Average low temperature (°F)	Daily mean temperature (°F)
McAllen	87.3	67.4	77.35
Brownsville	85.4	67.1	76.25
Laredo	86	63.9	74.95
Harlingen	84.7	64.7	74.7
Edinburg	84.7	63.3	74
Corpus Christi	82.3	63.6	72.95
Galveston	77.3	65.3	71.3
Del Rio	82.6	59.8	71.2
Houston	80.5	60.5	70.5
Victoria	80.8	59.6	70.2
Austin	80.5	59.4	69.95
Port Arthur	79.6	60.2	69.9
San Antonio	80.3	58.9	69.6
Beaumont	78.7	60.3	69.5
League City	78	61	69.5
College Station	79.2	58.9	69.05
Sugar Land	79.2	58.8	69
Bryan	79.2	58.8	69
Dallas	77.9	58.1	68
Killeen	78	57	67.5
Huntsville	77.6	57.3	67.45
Georgetown	79	55.2	67.1
New Braunfels	80	54	67
Lancaster	77	57	67
Waco	77.9	55.7	66.8
Grand Prairie	76.6	56.6	66.6
Round Rock	79	54	66.5
Tyler	76.6	56.4	66.5
El Paso	78.6	53.8	66.2
Temple	77	55	66
Abilene	78.2	53.7	65.95
Fort Worth	76.4	55.3	65.85
Midland	78.5	53	65.75
Keller	76	55.4	65.7
Odessa	77	54.1	65.55
San Angelo	78.2	52.8	65.5
Rowlett	76	55	65.5
Arlington	74.8	55.9	65.35
Longview	76.9	53.5	65.2
Denton	75.7	54.4	65.05
Grapevine	76.5	52.8	64.65
Flower Mound	76	53	64.5
Mansfield	76	53	64.5
Burleson	75.3	53.2	64.25
Texarkana	74.8	53.2	64
Lewisville	74.6	53.2	63.9
Wichita Falls	75.8	51	63.4
McKinney	73.5	52.1	62.8
Lubbock	74.9	47.8	61.35
Amarillo	72.5	44.9	58.7

Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States

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

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