#6 of 35 US cities · 2024
How pleasant is the weather in Sacramento, CA?
In 2024, 65% of daytime hours in Sacramento were enjoyable outdoors: 3,108 of 4,758 hours between 8 AM and 9 PM. That's #6 of 35 major US cities. April was the best month and July the worst.
- Enjoyable
- 65%
- Comfortable temp
- 68%
- Too cold
- 10%
- Too hot
- 21%
- Lost to rain
- 0.7%
- Lost to gusts
- 2.4%
Month by month
Share of each month's daytime hours (8 AM to 9 PM). Avg temp is the plain air temperature over those hours, not feels-like.
| Month | Enjoyable | Comfortable | Too cold | Too hot | Rain | Avg temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 70% | 30% | 0% | 1.5% | 54°F |
| February | 71% | 76% | 24% | 0% | 2.9% | 56°F |
| March | 76% | 83% | 17% | 0% | 1.0% | 59°F |
| April | 89% | 91% | 6% | 3% | 1.0% | 66°F |
| May | 70% | 76% | 3% | 21% | 0.0% | 75°F |
| June | 48% | 50% | 0% | 50% | 0.0% | 83°F |
| July | 34% | 34% | 0% | 66% | 0.0% | 87°F |
| August | 48% | 50% | 0% | 50% | 0.0% | 82°F |
| September | 56% | 57% | 0% | 43% | 0.0% | 80°F |
| October | 72% | 75% | 2% | 23% | 0.0% | 75°F |
| November | 76% | 83% | 17% | 0% | 2.3% | 58°F |
| December | 75% | 76% | 24% | 0% | 0.0% | 54°F |
What limits outdoor time
Heat costs Sacramento more hours than cold does: 21% of daytime hours were too hot, 10% too cold.
Shade does most of the work here: 32% of comfortable hours were only comfortable out of the sun, and just 9% only in it.
Weather escapes within driving distance
An hour's drive (about 45 miles) reaches places that average 5°F cooler in summer, but nowhere meaningfully warmer in winter. Stretch it to two hours (about 90 miles) and you can find places 21°F cooler in summer and 4°F warmer in winter. Distances are straight-line; temperatures are PRISM 1991–2020 averages.
How Sacramento, CA compares
- Oakland, CA · #3 · 80%
- San Jose, CA · #4 · 80%
- San Francisco, CA · #5 · 77%
- Portland, OR · #7 · 63%
- Seattle, WA · #8 · 61%
- Denver, CO · #9 · 59%
Other California cities: San Diego, CA (94%), Los Angeles, CA (85%), Oakland, CA (80%), San Jose, CA (80%), San Francisco, CA (77%).
Questions
How many pleasant outdoor hours does Sacramento, CA get?
3,108 hours in 2024, counting only 8 AM to 9 PM. That's 65% of daytime hours, about 239 days' worth of daytime, and ranks #6 of 35 major US cities.
What is the best month to be outside in Sacramento, CA?
April, when 89% of daytime hours were enjoyable. March (76%) and November (76%) came next. July was the worst month, at 34%.
What makes outdoor time less pleasant in Sacramento, CA?
Mostly temperature. 10% of daytime hours were too cold and 21% too hot. Rain took another 0.7%, and gusty wind 2.4%.
Scored with the default rule: 48–79°F feels-like in sun or shade, under 1 mm/h of rain, gusts under 27 mph, 8 AM to 9 PM. If you run hotter or colder than that, set your own range on the map. How the score works.