Death Valley, California, is the hottest place on the planet and still holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded—a scorching 134° Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913. But in ranking the hottest states in America, California doesn’t even make the top 10.
The three hottest U.S. states by average annual temperature are Florida (72.9°F), Louisiana (69.3°F) and Texas (68.6°F), according to 2024 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Thanks to a combination of heat and humidity, those same three sweltering Southern states have topped the list since 1895, the first year the U.S. government started tracking temperature data.
Here are more hot facts about the five hottest U.S. states: