The US State With The Mildest Climate Has Dry Weather Year-Round, Beaches, And Comfy Summers

You don't need a climate scientist to tell you that the weather varies a whole lot across the United States. Here's an example: New York's Syracuse, America's snowiest city, can be plunged under feet of the white stuff come December, while Arizona's Yuma, called the sunniest place on Earth, is bathed in enough UV rays to keep the lemon trees growing during the holidays. But there is one corner of the country that stands out for offering the mildest, most predictable, and most pleasant climate of all: the great Golden State of California.

Now, while there's certainly an element of subjectivity when it comes to what constitutes the "best" climate, California seems to be lauded across the board. Publications as diverse as HowStuffWorks, a factual encyclopedia that explains everything from physics to housekeeping, and the online lifestyle magazine Stories Today place the West Coast state at the top of their lists when it comes to those with the most congenial climates. There's even a Reddit thread that asks, tellingly, "What city / state has the best year-round weather? Excluding California."

Why does the Golden State get so many gold medals on this count, you ask? That's down to a combination of things, but there seem to be three main aspects to consider. First, comfy temperatures in both summer and winter — you're looking for average thermometer readings that hover between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which San Diego manages all but three months of the year. Second, you want low rainfall, ideally under 60 inches in a single calendar year, something achieved by virtually every major town and city in the state. Third, you want sun — lots of sun. That's easy in Cali, where the sunniest spot, Redding, gets more vitamin D than even Vegas and El Paso!

It's one thing to know that this section of the West Coast is regularly championed for its downright agreeable weather conditions. It's another entirely that it just so happens to have some seriously fantastic places to enjoy all that sunshine and warmth, not least of all 840 miles of arguably the most photoworthy coastline in the country. Yep, California has a whopping 400-plus public beaches that fringe bucket-list regions like the ultra-rugged Big Sur or the vast redwood forests of Northern California.

That said, Current Results, a website dedicated to weather and science facts, hones in on the southern and central regions of the state's shoreline in their own list of territories with the finest weather (which, of course, sees California take pole position). It's not for nothing that these regions have become synonymous with surf culture and ocean living. They lay claim to legendary beaches like Zuma, the ultimate Californian beach, a quintessential SoCal run of sand with 1.8 miles of shoreline.

Santa Barbara could be the place that sums up the state's perfect climate the most, though. It sits right on the line between Southern California and the Central Coast and has access to a whole string of fantastic beaches, including the underrated slice of Hawaii that is Refugio State Beach to the west and the legendary surf point of Rincon to the east. As for Santa Barbara's climate, expect over 300 days of sun each year, with warm Santa Ana winds breezing down from the mountains in the fall and comfy ocean temperatures throughout the summer. No wonder it's called the "American Riviera."