Hottest U.S. cities? Here’s where Phoenix ranks

Everyone knows that water is wet, and that Phoenix is hot. But the better thing to wonder — does any other major metropolitan area in the U.S. come close to being as hot as the Valley of the Sun?

Well, sort of. Real estate and tech company Redfin recently put together a ranking of the hottest cities in the country based on the average summer temperature — and as you can likely guess, Phoenix nabbed the top spot.

The study, which ranked cities with more than 100,000 residents, noted that Phoenix’s average summer temperature is 93.7 degrees — the warmest in the country.

Another Arizona city, Yuma, was ranked as the second hottest in the country. While its average summer temperature is just below Phoenix’s at 92.8, its average year-round temperature is actually higher than in Phoenix. Las Vegas has the third-hottest summer, followed by several cities in Texas and also Tucson.

The last two summers in Phoenix have been the hottest on record, due in part to climate change and an increasingly nasty urban heat island effect that traps heat in the metropolitan area. In 2024, the Valley saw a record-setting 113 straight days with temperatures topping 100 degrees. That blew the previous record — 76 days, set in 1993 — out of the water. Last year also saw 70 days of temperatures over 110 degrees, triple the historical average of 21 days.

Those two summers were also the deadliest ever. A shocking 645 people perished due to heat-related causes in 2023 — a huge increase from 2022 — and 602 people died in 2024, a slight decrease that left city officials relatively pleased. It’s the dangerous Phoenix heat that won Arizona’s weather the title of deadliest in the country, according to a study released by a personal injury law firm. With an increasing number of unsheltered people in the Valley, experts think it could get worse.

The National Weather Service has said the odds are pretty high that this summer in Phoenix will be warmer than normal as well, but possibly not as bad as the past two years.

“Statistically speaking, it doesn’t seem like we’re going to be looking at temperatures exceeding or reaching those levels for a third time,” said NWS meteorologist Ryan Worley. “Is it completely out of the question? Absolutely not.”

Phoenix is trying to make changes that will mitigate the heat island effect by creating more tree cover. The Phoenix City Council approved $60 million in funding to plant 27,000 trees, targeting areas that lack shade. Phoenix tried a massive tree planting effort in 2010, but failed to follow through, and a city spokesperson said about two-thirds of the trees planted by the city since 2010 have died.

Here are the five hottest cities in the U.S., according to Redfin.

1. Phoenix
Average summer temperature: 93.7°F
Average annual temperature: 75.4°F
Record highest temperature: 122°F (1990)

2. Yuma
Average summer temperature: 92.8°F
Average annual temperature: 75.9°F
Record highest temperature: 124°F (1995)

3. Las Vegas
Average summer temperature: 90.8°F
Average annual temperature: 70.1°F
Record highest temperature: 120°F (2024)

4. McAllen, Texas
Average summer temperature: 88.5°F
Average annual temperature: 77.4°F
Record highest temperature: 111°F (2023)

5. Laredo, Texas
Average summer temperature: 88.0°F
Average annual temperature: 74.6°F
Record highest temperature: 115°F (1908)