Winter daily sunlight
The average amount of sunlight reaching the ground each day in winter, in kilowatt-hours per square metre. Winter here means December of the year before, then January and February. So the winter of 2024 to 2025 is listed under 2025. Winter light is lower the farther north a place is, since the sun is low and days are short, and lower where winters are cloudy. NASA estimates it from weather satellites for squares of land about 60 miles across.
Reported for3,144areas, in 51 states — none in PR
Link to density0.14not 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
Loading…
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.
Loading…
Where it comes from
NASA POWER (Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources) · NASA POWER daily regional API, community RE, ALLSKY_SFC_SW_DWN
The average sunlight reaching the ground each day in December, January and February. 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.
| Measure | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Winter daily sunlight and Cooling degree daysWhere Winter daily sunlight is higher, Cooling degree days 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. Cooling degree days by US county | +0.76 | +0.79 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Days of 90°F or hotterWhere Winter 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 | +0.79 | +0.79 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Average temperatureWhere Winter 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 | +0.71 | +0.79 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Summer daily highWhere Winter 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 | +0.77 | +0.78 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Heating degree daysWhere Winter 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 | -0.62 | -0.74 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Freezing daysWhere Winter 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 | -0.51 | -0.65 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Adults under 65 without health insuranceWhere Winter 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 | +0.62 | +0.62 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Winter nightly lowWhere Winter 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 | +0.53 | +0.61 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Winter 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 | +0.49 | +0.51 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Current asthmaWhere Winter daily sunlight is higher, Current asthma tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Current asthma by US county | -0.36 | -0.48 |
31 more pairs with winter daily sunlight have a page: Share White, not Hispanic · Cancer other than skin cancer · Returns reporting unemployment compensation · Returns claiming the earned income credit · Vision disability · Natural amenities scale · Community resilience to disasters · Diagnosed diabetes · Medicare spending per enrollee · Housing insecurity · Depression · Wet days · Fair or poor self-rated health · Food insecurity · Colorectal cancer screening · Share foreign-born · People per tax return · Returns claiming charitable contributions · Longest dry spell · Mobility disability · Economic connectedness · Self-care disability · Membership of volunteering groups · No leisure-time physical activity · Motor vehicle crash deaths · Arthritis · Environment score · Expected yearly hurricane loss · High cholesterol · Binge drinking · Threat of utility shut-off.
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 residents | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Winter daily sunlight and Share White, not HispanicWhere Winter 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 | -0.46 | -0.47 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Share Black, not HispanicWhere Winter 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, and inside states as well. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county | +0.30 | +0.27 |
| Winter daily sunlight and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Winter 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 | +0.49 | +0.51 |
| Winter 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 | +0.07 |
| Winter 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 | -0.14 |
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
- Maui County, HI — 4.42
- Monroe County, FL — 4.32
- Hawaii County, HI — 4.32
- Kalawao County, HI — 4.29
- Kauai County, HI — 4.27
Lowest
- North Slope Borough, AK — 0.125
- Northwest Arctic Borough, AK — 0.195
- Nome Census Area, AK — 0.256
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK — 0.303
- Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK — 0.317
The middle area reports 2.31. The middle half of counties falls between 1.97 and 2.67 (the 25th to 75th percentile).
US Counties With the Highest Winter Daily Sunlight · US Counties With the Lowest Winter Daily Sunlight
All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works