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The driest places in North America year-round: ranked by rainfall

Mexicali tops the list at 6.2 mm averaged across the year. Ranked from 1991–2020 climate normals across 50 destinations in North America.

Top three averaged across all twelve months: Mexicali (6.2 mm) , San Luis Río Colorado (6.8 mm) , Henderson (11 mm) . Between first and 50th place the rainfall differs by 33 mm.

# Destination Country Rainfall Avg high Avg low Rainfall Wet days Sunshine Sea temp
1 Mexicali Mexico 6.2 mm 32 °C 18 °C 6 mm 1 349 h –
2 San Luis Río Colorado Mexico 6.8 mm 32 °C 17 °C 7 mm 1 349 h –
3 Henderson United States 11 mm 27 °C 15 °C 11 mm 2 343 h –
4 Las Vegas United States 12 mm 27 °C 14 °C 12 mm 2 344 h –
5 Spring Valley United States 12 mm 26 °C 13 °C 12 mm 2 345 h –
6 Lancaster United States 16 mm 24 °C 11 °C 16 mm 2 345 h –
7 Ciudad Juárez Mexico 16 mm 26 °C 12 °C 16 mm 3 344 h –
8 Albuquerque United States 17 mm 22 °C 8.2 °C 17 mm 3 342 h –
9 Torreón Mexico 17 mm 29 °C 16 °C 17 mm 3 338 h –
10 La Paz Mexico 19 mm 30 °C 20 °C 19 mm 3 346 h 25 °C
11 Hermosillo Mexico 20 mm 32 °C 17 °C 20 mm 3 342 h –
12 Phoenix United States 21 mm 30 °C 16 °C 21 mm 2 340 h –
13 Tucson United States 21 mm 28 °C 14 °C 21 mm 3 341 h –
14 Bakersfield United States 22 mm 26 °C 12 °C 22 mm 3 342 h –
15 Mesa United States 23 mm 30 °C 15 °C 23 mm 3 341 h –
16 Cabo San Lucas Mexico 23 mm 28 °C 22 °C 23 mm 3 345 h 25 °C
17 Long Beach United States 24 mm 22 °C 13 °C 24 mm 2 340 h 17 °C
18 Chihuahua Mexico 25 mm 26 °C 12 °C 25 mm 4 340 h –
19 Ensenada Mexico 25 mm 22 °C 14 °C 25 mm 3 345 h 18 °C
20 Huntington Beach United States 26 mm 22 °C 13 °C 26 mm 3 339 h 18 °C
21 San Diego United States 26 mm 21 °C 13 °C 26 mm 3 338 h 18 °C
22 Anaheim United States 26 mm 23 °C 12 °C 26 mm 3 339 h 18 °C
23 Boise United States 27 mm 18 °C 6.0 °C 27 mm 6 315 h –
24 Tijuana Mexico 28 mm 20 °C 13 °C 28 mm 3 339 h 18 °C
25 Ciudad Obregón Mexico 28 mm 32 °C 18 °C 28 mm 4 340 h –
26 Palmdale United States 28 mm 24 °C 11 °C 28 mm 4 346 h –
27 Los Mochis Mexico 28 mm 31 °C 20 °C 28 mm 3 337 h 25 °C
28 Santa Clarita United States 29 mm 25 °C 12 °C 29 mm 3 342 h –
29 Los Angeles United States 29 mm 25 °C 12 °C 29 mm 3 338 h 17 °C
30 Oceanside United States 31 mm 21 °C 14 °C 31 mm 3 340 h 18 °C
31 Oxnard United States 33 mm 20 °C 13 °C 33 mm 3 342 h 17 °C
32 Moreno Valley United States 33 mm 24 °C 11 °C 33 mm 4 341 h –
33 San Bernardino United States 33 mm 25 °C 12 °C 33 mm 4 341 h –
34 Aurora United States 33 mm 18 °C 3.4 °C 33 mm 6 321 h –
35 Glendale United States 33 mm 25 °C 12 °C 33 mm 3 341 h –
36 Monclova Mexico 33 mm 29 °C 17 °C 33 mm 5 320 h –
37 Honolulu United States 33 mm 26 °C 23 °C 33 mm 7 348 h 25 °C
38 Reno United States 34 mm 18 °C 6.3 °C 34 mm 5 333 h –
39 Pomona United States 34 mm 25 °C 12 °C 34 mm 3 336 h –
40 Escondido United States 34 mm 23 °C 12 °C 34 mm 4 340 h 18 °C
41 Fresno United States 35 mm 26 °C 12 °C 35 mm 4 335 h –
42 Ontario United States 35 mm 25 °C 12 °C 35 mm 3 336 h –
43 Nogales Mexico 35 mm 25 °C 11 °C 35 mm 5 338 h –
44 Cuauhtémoc Mexico 36 mm 22 °C 8.3 °C 36 mm 6 337 h –
45 Saskatoon Canada 36 mm 8.7 °C -1.4 °C 36 mm 6 275 h –
46 Riverside United States 37 mm 25 °C 12 °C 37 mm 4 339 h –
47 Lubbock United States 37 mm 24 °C 11 °C 37 mm 5 319 h –
48 Modesto United States 38 mm 25 °C 11 °C 38 mm 4 328 h –
49 Fontana United States 39 mm 25 °C 11 °C 39 mm 4 340 h –
50 Salinas United States 39 mm 19 °C 9.7 °C 39 mm 4 326 h 13 °C

Averaged across all twelve months, and only for destinations with a full twelve-month series and a published climate page. Download this ranking as CSV.

Month by month

The same ranking for each month of the year:

How this ranking is built

What is ranked
Total precipitation, in mm, averaged across all twelve months, lowest first.
Period
1991–2020 climate normals: the same 30 years for every destination, so the list compares like with like.
Who is included
50 destinations in North America with a published climate page and a complete twelve-month series. Neighbouring places that share a climate series are shown once.
Ties
Equal values are ordered by fewest wet days.
Sources
ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis via Open-Meteo; sea temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1. Measured values are reproduced unchanged; only the ordering is ours.

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: ranking order, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.