San Francisco is 2.2°C (4°F) warmer by day, San Francisco has 7.4°C (13.3°F) warmer nights, San Francisco gets 157 mm (6.2 in) more rain a year.
Denver is at its warmest in July and coolest in January, while San Francisco peaks in September and bottoms out in January. Month for month, San Francisco is the warmer of the two in 9 of 12 months.
San Francisco is the wetter of the two, collecting 619 mm (24.4 in) of rain a year against 462 mm (18.2 in) in Denver. The most comfortable time to visit is June, July and August in Denver and July, August and September in San Francisco.
| Denver | Metric | San Francisco |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 61.9°F | 🌡️Average daytime high | 65.8°F |
| 35.8°F | 🌙Average nighttime low | 49.1°F |
| July | 🔥Hottest month | September |
| January | ❄️Coldest month | January |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 18.2 in | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 24.4 in |
| May | ☔Wettest month | December |
| January | 🏜️Driest month | July |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 50% | 💧Average humidity | 77% |
| 2.5 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 2.3 m/s |
Overnight, Denver typically falls to around 2.1°C (35.8°F) while San Francisco settles near 9.5°C (49.1°F).
Denver is hottest in July and coldest in January, whereas San Francisco peaks in September and is coolest in January.
Denver sees the most rain in May and the least in January; San Francisco is wettest in December and driest in July.
San Francisco feels the more humid of the two, averaging 77% relative humidity against 50%.
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 | Denver | San Francisco | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 19.6 | 30.2❄️ | 40.6 | 43.3 | 49.8❄️ | 56.3 |
| February | 20.5 | 31.8 | 43.2 | 44.6 | 51.3 | 57.9 |
| March | 25.3 | 37.9 | 50.7 | 46 | 52.9 | 59.9 |
| April | 30.6 | 44.6 | 58.5 | 47.1 | 55 | 63 |
| May | 40.1 | 54.3 | 68.7 | 49.6 | 58.3 | 66.9 |
| June | 50.7 | 65.8 | 81.1 | 52 | 61.7 | 71.2 |
| July | 57.4 | 71.6🔥 | 85.6 | 53.6 | 63.3 | 73 |
| August | 55.9 | 69.4 | 82.9 | 54.9 | 64.8 | 74.5 |
| September | 47.5 | 61.9 | 76.3 | 55.2 | 65.3🔥 | 75.4 |
| October | 35.4 | 49.5 | 63.3 | 52.9 | 62.2 | 71.6 |
| November | 26.2 | 38.3 | 50.4 | 47.7 | 55.2 | 62.8 |
| December | 20.1 | 30.6 | 40.8 | 43.5 | 50 | 56.5 |
| Annual Avg | 35.8 | 48.9 | 61.9 | 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 Denver 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. Denver San Francisco
See how Denver 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 Denver and San Francisco — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
San Francisco is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 18.8°C (65.8°F) against 16.6°C (61.9°F) in Denver — roughly 2.2°C (4°F) warmer by day. Nights are milder in San Francisco, with average lows of 9.5°C (49.1°F) versus 2.1°C (35.8°F).
Denver is hottest in July, averaging highs of about 29.8°C (85.6°F), while San Francisco peaks in September at around 24.1°C (75.4°F). That makes Denver the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Denver gets colder. In its coldest month (January) overnight lows average about -6.9°C (19.7°F), compared with 6.3°C (43.3°F) at the low point of the year in San Francisco.
San Francisco is the wetter city, collecting about 619 mm (24.4 in) of rain a year versus 462 mm (18.2 in) in Denver. Denver is wettest in May and driest in January; 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 50% in Denver.
The most comfortable months in Denver are June, July and August, 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.
San Francisco is the warmer city in 9 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in January, about 10.9°C (19.6°F), and narrowest in September, about 1.9°C (3.4°F).
Denver has the bigger seasonal swing, about 23°C (41.4°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 San Francisco for warmer weather, pick Denver if you prefer drier conditions and go for Denver 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 Denver and San Francisco, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
