placestats

Daily sunlight

The average amount of sunlight reaching the ground each day over the year, in kilowatt-hours per square metre. NASA estimates it from weather satellites: the satellites see the clouds, and a model of the air works out how much sunlight gets through them. The figures are for squares of land about 60 miles across, so nearby counties often share a value. Each county gets the square where its people live, around its center of population. Years before 2001 come from older satellites, which NASA adjusted to match the newer ones.

Reported for3,144areas, in 51 states — none in PR
Link to density0.19not mostly about how urban a place is
Nearby places alike0.97Moran’s I: strongly, neighbouring places tend to be similar
TyperatekWh/m² per day

How it has moved

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Every state, every year

One row per state and one column per year, sorted by the latest value. It shows states, not counties: nobody can scan 3,222 rows, and the pattern only shows when it all fits on one screen.

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Where it comes from

NASA POWER (Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources) · NASA POWER daily regional API, community RE, ALLSKY_SFC_SW_DWN

The year's average sunlight reaching the ground each day, from satellites. Combined areas are weighted by their people.

Combining areas: an average weighted by SUN.POPULATION.

What it goes with

The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 3 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.

MeasureUnadjustedAdjusted
Daily sunlight and Summer daily highWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Summer daily high tends to be higher: a strong link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Summer daily high by US county+0.76+0.78
Daily sunlight and Days of 90°F or hotterWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Days of 90°F or hotter tends to be higher: a strong link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Days of 90°F or hotter by US county+0.74+0.74
Daily sunlight and Average temperatureWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Average temperature tends to be higher: a strong link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Average temperature by US county+0.62+0.72
Daily sunlight and Heating degree daysWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Heating degree days tends to be lower: a strong link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Heating degree days by US county-0.53-0.70
Daily sunlight and Cooling degree daysWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Cooling degree days tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Cooling degree days by US county+0.65+0.70
Daily sunlight and Freezing daysWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Freezing days tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Freezing days by US county-0.42-0.61
Daily sunlight and Adults under 65 without health insuranceWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Adults under 65 without health insurance tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Adults under 65 without health insurance by US county+0.58+0.58
Daily sunlight and Winter nightly lowWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Winter nightly low tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Winter nightly low by US county+0.44+0.55
Daily sunlight and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county+0.53+0.55
Daily sunlight and Natural amenities scaleWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Natural amenities scale tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Natural amenities scale by US county+0.48+0.50

29 more pairs with daily sunlight have a page: Longest dry spell · Share White, not Hispanic · Wet days · Current asthma · Cancer other than skin cancer · Colorectal cancer screening · Community resilience to disasters · People per tax return · Vision disability · Returns claiming charitable contributions · Returns claiming the earned income credit · Environment score · Fair or poor self-rated health · Share foreign-born · Returns reporting unemployment compensation · Mobility disability · Diagnosed diabetes · Housing insecurity · Medicare spending per enrollee · Economic connectedness · Binge drinking · Food insecurity · Friending clustering · Area in drought · Motor vehicle crash deaths · Self-care disability · Burglary rate · Median gross rent · Arthritis.

Population makeup

How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.

Share of residentsUnadjustedAdjusted
Daily sunlight and Share White, not HispanicWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county-0.43-0.46
Daily sunlight and Share Black, not HispanicWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Share Black, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county+0.23+0.21
Daily sunlight and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Daily sunlight is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county+0.53+0.55
Daily sunlight and Share Asian, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county-0.01+0.08
Daily sunlight and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county-0.14-0.15

Highest and lowest

Of 3,144 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.

Highest

  1. Yuma County, AZ — 5.97
  2. El Paso County, TX — 5.92
  3. Imperial County, CA — 5.91
  4. Santa Cruz County, AZ — 5.89
  5. Cochise County, AZ — 5.89

Lowest

  1. Chugach Census Area, AK — 2.12
  2. Nome Census Area, AK — 2.18
  3. North Slope Borough, AK — 2.25
  4. Kusilvak Census Area, AK — 2.33
  5. Sitka City and Borough, AK — 2.33

The middle area reports 4.36. The middle half of counties falls between 4.04 and 4.66 (the 25th to 75th percentile).

US Counties With the Highest Daily Sunlight · US Counties With the Lowest Daily Sunlight

All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works