The average annual sunshine level in beautiful San Francisco, California is 66%. That means that the city of San Francisco receives 66% of all its possible sunshine on a yearly basis. The rest of the time clouds cover the city and block the sun.

San Francisco definitely has times of the year when it is much more sunnier, and times during the year when their are more clouds over the city. I've been to San Francisco a number of times and it has always been sunny when I went. But I've never visited the city during the winter months. Looking at the monthly precipitation levels for San Francisco, the city clearly has fewer sunny days in the winter.

San Francisco receives around 22.28" of rain on a yearly basis. But the majority of that rain falls each year from November through March, as 18.76" inches of rain falls over that five month stretch. From April through October just 3.52" of rain falls in the city. San Francisco is a huge tourist city and if you are going to visit the city and want sunny weather you should avoid the winter months.

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How Does San Francisco Stack Up vs Other Cities?

Compared to most cities in the United States, a 66% sunshine level is great. Most cities in the country have lower annual sunshine levels than that. But as far as California goes, a 66% sunshine level is is near the bottom of the list. Here are the sunshine levels of some major California cities.

Redding - 88%

Fresno - 79%

Sacramento - 78%

Los Angeles - 73%

San Diego - 68%

Eureka - 51%

Image Source by Mila Zinkova

Other Cities in the United States with 66% Annual Sunshine Levels

All the cities in the United States listed below have the same 66% annual sunshine level that San Francisco does. That does mean that any of these cities have the same climate as San Francisco though, just the same total sunshine levels. Most cities in the United States do get more sunshine in the summer and less in the winter, but most do not have the same extremes as the City by the Bay.

Apalachicola, Florida

Macon, Georgia

Tampa, Florida

Salt Lake City, Utah

Cheyenne, Wyoming

For more see San Francisco Weather Facts, Averages and Records

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Source:http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgsun.html