Austin is 8°C (14.4°F) warmer by day, Austin has 4.7°C (8.5°F) warmer nights, Austin gets 219 mm (8.6 in) more rain a year.
Austin is at its warmest in August and coolest in January, while San Francisco peaks in September and bottoms out in January. Month for month, Austin is the warmer of the two in 11 of 12 months.
Austin is the wetter of the two, collecting 838 mm (33 in) of rain a year against 619 mm (24.4 in) in San Francisco. The most comfortable time to visit is April, May and October in Austin and July, August and September in San Francisco.
| Austin | Metric | San Francisco |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 80.2°F | 🌡️Average daytime high | 65.8°F |
| 57.6°F | 🌙Average nighttime low | 49.1°F |
| August | 🔥Hottest month | September |
| January | ❄️Coldest month | January |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 33 in | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 24.4 in |
| May | ☔Wettest month | December |
| February | 🏜️Driest month | July |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 68% | 💧Average humidity | 77% |
| 2.9 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 2.3 m/s |
Overnight, Austin typically falls to around 14.2°C (57.6°F) while San Francisco settles near 9.5°C (49.1°F).
Austin is hottest in August and coldest in January, whereas San Francisco peaks in September and is coolest in January.
Austin sees the most rain in May and the least in February; San Francisco is wettest in December and driest in July.
San Francisco feels the more humid of the two, averaging 77% relative humidity against 68%.
For San Francisco, the pick of the year is July, August and September.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Austin | San Francisco | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 38.1 | 49.3❄️ | 60.6 | 43.3 | 49.8❄️ | 56.3 |
| February | 41.7 | 53.4 | 64.9 | 44.6 | 51.3 | 57.9 |
| March | 48.9 | 61 | 73 | 46 | 52.9 | 59.9 |
| April | 56.5 | 68.9 | 81.1 | 47.1 | 55 | 63 |
| May | 65.3 | 76.3 | 87.3 | 49.6 | 58.3 | 66.9 |
| June | 72.1 | 82.8 | 93.4 | 52 | 61.7 | 71.2 |
| July | 74.7 | 85.6 | 96.6 | 53.6 | 63.3 | 73 |
| August | 75.4 | 86.7🔥 | 97.9 | 54.9 | 64.8 | 74.5 |
| September | 69.4 | 80.4 | 91.4 | 55.2 | 65.3🔥 | 75.4 |
| October | 59.4 | 71.1 | 82.8 | 52.9 | 62.2 | 71.6 |
| November | 48.6 | 59.9 | 71.1 | 47.7 | 55.2 | 62.8 |
| December | 40.6 | 51.6 | 62.6 | 43.5 | 50 | 56.5 |
| Annual Avg | 57.6 | 68.9 | 80.2 | 49.3 | 57.6 | 65.7 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°F). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Austin and San Francisco feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Austin San Francisco
See how Austin and San Francisco stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Austin and San Francisco — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Austin is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 26.8°C (80.2°F) against 18.8°C (65.8°F) in San Francisco — roughly 8°C (14.4°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in Austin, with average lows of 14.2°C (57.6°F) versus 9.5°C (49.1°F).
Austin is hottest in August, averaging highs of about 36.6°C (98°F), while San Francisco peaks in September at around 24.1°C (75.4°F). That makes Austin the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Austin gets colder. In its coldest month (January) overnight lows average about 3.4°C (38.1°F), compared with 6.3°C (43.3°F) at the low point of the year in San Francisco.
Austin is the wetter city, collecting about 838 mm (33 in) of rain a year versus 619 mm (24.4 in) in San Francisco. Austin is wettest in May and driest in February; San Francisco is wettest in December and driest in July.
San Francisco is the more humid of the two, averaging 77% relative humidity over the year against 68% in Austin.
The most comfortable months in Austin are April, May and October, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
San Francisco is at its most pleasant around July, August and September, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Austin is the warmer city in 11 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in July, about 12.4°C (22.3°F), and narrowest in January, about 0.3°C (0.5°F).
Austin has the bigger seasonal swing, about 20.8°C (37.4°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 8.6°C (15.5°F) in San Francisco — so San Francisco has the steadier, more even climate.
It depends what matters most to you: choose Austin for warmer weather, pick San Francisco if you prefer drier conditions and go for Austin if you want lower humidity. There is no single "better" climate — it comes down to whether you value warmth, dryness or comfort most.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Austin and San Francisco, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
