#4 of 35 US cities · 2024
How pleasant is the weather in San Jose, CA?
In 2024, 80% of daytime hours in San Jose were enjoyable outdoors: 3,819 of 4,758 hours between 8 AM and 9 PM. That's #4 of 35 major US cities. May and August were the best months and February the worst.
- Enjoyable
- 80%
- Comfortable temp
- 85%
- Too cold
- 9%
- Too hot
- 6%
- Lost to rain
- 1.3%
- Lost to gusts
- 4.0%
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 | 70% | 74% | 26% | 0% | 1.5% | 54°F |
| February | 66% | 76% | 24% | 0% | 6.9% | 54°F |
| March | 72% | 85% | 15% | 0% | 4.5% | 56°F |
| April | 83% | 92% | 8% | 0% | 0.8% | 59°F |
| May | 94% | 97% | 3% | 0% | 0.0% | 64°F |
| June | 89% | 95% | 0% | 5% | 0.0% | 70°F |
| July | 74% | 74% | 0% | 26% | 0.0% | 75°F |
| August | 94% | 94% | 0% | 6% | 0.0% | 73°F |
| September | 82% | 84% | 0% | 16% | 0.0% | 72°F |
| October | 80% | 83% | 2% | 15% | 0.0% | 70°F |
| November | 76% | 85% | 15% | 0% | 0.5% | 57°F |
| December | 83% | 86% | 14% | 0% | 1.5% | 56°F |
What limits outdoor time
Cold costs San Jose more hours than heat does: 9% of daytime hours were too cold, 6% too hot. Wind matters too: gusts took 4.0% of daytime hours.
Sun or shade makes less difference here: 62% of comfortable hours were pleasant in both.
Weather escapes within driving distance
An hour's drive (about 45 miles) reaches places that average 14°F cooler in summer, but nowhere meaningfully warmer in winter. Distances are straight-line; temperatures are PRISM 1991–2020 averages.
How San Jose, CA compares
- San Diego, CA · #1 · 94%
- Los Angeles, CA · #2 · 85%
- Oakland, CA · #3 · 80%
- San Francisco, CA · #5 · 77%
- Sacramento, CA · #6 · 65%
- Portland, OR · #7 · 63%
Other California cities: San Diego, CA (94%), Los Angeles, CA (85%), Oakland, CA (80%), San Francisco, CA (77%), Sacramento, CA (65%).
Questions
How many pleasant outdoor hours does San Jose, CA get?
3,819 hours in 2024, counting only 8 AM to 9 PM. That's 80% of daytime hours, about 294 days' worth of daytime, and ranks #4 of 35 major US cities.
What is the best month to be outside in San Jose, CA?
May and August tied for best, with 94% of daytime hours enjoyable. June came next at 89%. February was the worst month, at 66%.
What makes outdoor time less pleasant in San Jose, CA?
Mostly temperature. 9% of daytime hours were too cold and 6% too hot. Rain took another 1.3%, and gusty wind 4.0%.
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.