Top 10 Gloomiest Cities in the US

Cloudy days are perfect for curling up with a book, a loved one, or a pet by the fireplace—but too many in a row can start to take a toll on your mood and mental health. In fact, studies show that people living in with less sunlight are more likely to experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Even the biggest fan of cozy sweaters and warm drinks still needs a healthy dose of sunshine and vitamin D to feel their best.

To find out which cities are the gloomiest, we looked at climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see which of the US’s most populated cities get the most cloud cover.

Whether you’re planning your next vacation or looking for a warm, sunny place to move to, read our list to scope out which big American city is the cloudiest city in America and where your city ranks.

Alaska ranks as the cloudiest state in the U.S. Its cities take most of the top ten spots. Overall, each spot (but one) is found somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

Annual cloudy days: 304

With an average of over 304 cloudy days per year, Cold Bay is the gloomiest city in the United States. This high number of cloudy days actually means that Anchorage spends about 83% of every year under clouds.

Annual cloudy days: 287

Another Alaska city hits the top ten with a whopping 287 days of cloud cover. This little island in the Bering Sea missed more than a month's worth of food deliveries in the summer of 2025 due to fog.

Annual cloudy days: 278

The roll Alaska's on isn't stopping yet, with Yakutat coming in at number 3.  This slice of The Last Frontier features the biggest ice cap that's not in Antarctica and the highest coastal mountains on Earth.

Annual cloudy days: 280

Probably not surprisingly, another Alaskan city makes the number four spot. Currently, the city of is working on a project to protect the town from imminent flooding from the Mendenhall River predicted record-breaking glacier lake outburst flood events.

Annual cloudy days: 265

Annette is a tiny city off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It gets only 40 clear days a year. The rest are either partly or fully cloudy.

Annual cloudy days: 244

Finally, a city that isn't in Alaska makes the list. Mt. Washington features an observatory with a weather and research station at the Mount Washington State Park. Since most days are cloudy, research must be pretty boring.

Annual cloudy days: 245

We're back in Alaska, this time one hour out from Anchorage. King Salmon may not be known for its sunny skies, but it is a popular spot for watching bears and walruses.

Annual cloudy days: 251

While Valdez has more total cloudy days than King Salmon, it ranks lower on our list because it has more completely sunny days than its sibling.  Valdez comes in with 57 clear days while King Salmon only has 51. 

Annual cloudy days: 239

Astoria is known as little San Francisco, but it isn't known for sunshine and warm days like the California city. It's located just off the Pacific Ocean, too, but a lot farther north.

Annual cloudy days: 239

With the same number of cloudy days as Astoria, you'd think they would be tied for ninth place. Interestingly, though, Quillayute got one more day of full sun than Astoria.

Here's the full list of cities with the most, and least, cloud coverage. Check to see how your hometown ranks when compared to the least sunny cities in the U.S.

Note: While our top ten list was only for the gloomiest cities found in the United States, this full list contains U.S. territories as well.

To gather our rankings, we looked exclusively at the 72 most populous cities in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our rankings were based on annual cloud cover as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While other factors like a given city’s culture and annual precipitation were mentioned several times throughout this article, these supplemental factors weren’t used in our rankings.