#1Nantucket
Nantucket County · 14,758 peopleJanuary low·July high 76°·86 freezing nights a year
Nantucket, #1 on this list · Photo: The original uploader was Bobak at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5Massachusetts rankings · Climate
Towns with the mildest winters in Massachusetts
Nantucket has the mildest winters of Massachusetts’ 278 towns of 2,500+: January nights average a low of 26° (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). The typical town here averages 18°; none of the 278 stay above freezing.
The average January low. NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020, from NOAA’s 5 km grid at each town’s center; one town for each grid cell. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#126°
#2Chatham
Barnstable County · 6,752 peopleJanuary low·July high 77°·83 freezing nights a year
#T3Harwich
Barnstable County · 13,635 peopleJanuary low·July high 78°·83 freezing nights a year
All 278 towns
January low, highest first. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T = tied; 248 towns here).
278 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownJanuary lowNights ≤32°July high
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which Massachusetts town has the mildest winters?
Nantucket (Nantucket County): January nights average a low of 26°. Chatham (25°) and Harwich (25°) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By the average January low (the coldest month’s nights), highest first, on NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals, read from its 5 km grid at each town’s center. Towns with the same figure share a rank (T); the figure and the state rank are the ones on each town’s Climate page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ residents, one for each of NOAA’s 5 km grid cells (278 in Massachusetts): where towns share a cell, one of them stands for it, since the grid gives them the same figures. Every town’s own figures are on its Climate page. Every town is on the Massachusetts page.
Go deeper
All Massachusetts rankings →More Massachusetts lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
Best places to live282 towns · #1 WenhamBest small towns98 towns · #1 WenhamMost affordable towns282 towns · #1 CarlisleSafest towns276 towns · #1 GrovelandTowns with the best schools283 towns · #1 CarlisleHealthiest towns279 towns · #1 SherbornBest towns for jobs & income283 towns · #1 WestonMost walkable towns283 towns · #1 CambridgeTowns with the lowest natural-hazard risk283 towns · #1 AvonBest towns for the outdoors283 towns · #1 ProvincetownMost historic towns283 towns · #1 NewburyportTowns with the most civic life283 towns · #1 Oak BluffsTowns with the least snow281 towns · #1 Barnstable TownDescribed, no lettersSnowiest towns281 towns · #1 AdamsDescribed, no lettersTowns with the hottest summers278 towns · #1 Agawam Town and WestfieldDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers278 towns · #1 NantucketDescribed, no lettersTowns with the highest incomes283 towns · #1 Carlisle and 4 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest property taxes246 towns · #1 DennisDescribed, no lettersFastest-growing towns284 towns · #1 WilliamstownDescribed, no lettersTowns with the most-used libraries263 towns · #1 ProvincetownDescribed, no letters
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