New York climate

New York Plant Hardiness Zones

New York’s towns run from zone 4a to zone 7b: the average coldest winter night is 9.3°F at Arverne and -28°F at Paul Smiths.

Hardiness zones in New York

In USDA’s colors, neighboring states washed out. Zones follow elevation, coasts and cities down to half a mile. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Map of the 2023 plant hardiness zones across New York, from zone 4a to zone 7b, with the state’s border drawn.
  • 4a
  • 4b
  • 5a
  • 5b
  • 6a
  • 6b
  • 7a
  • 7b

Open the live map with plant hardiness zones

Towns by zone

Each town’s 1991-2020 average annual extreme minimum at its center, read from the map’s 800 m grid. Warmest zone first.

7b Zone 7b, 5 to 10°F 402 towns

7a Zone 7a, 0 to 5°F 120 towns

6b Zone 6b, -5 to 0°F 203 towns

6a Zone 6a, -10 to -5°F 237 towns

5b Zone 5b, -15 to -10°F 199 towns

5a Zone 5a, -20 to -15°F 68 towns

4b Zone 4b, -25 to -20°F 28 towns

4a Zone 4a, -30 to -25°F 7 towns

Counties

At the county’s center; a county with hills or a coast spans several zones.

CountyZone at the centerAverage coldest night
Albany County5b-12.5°F
Allegany County5b-13.2°F
Bronx County7b8.1°F
Broome County6a-9.7°F
Cattaraugus County5b-10.5°F
Cayuga County6a-7.5°F
Chautauqua County6a-6.9°F
Chemung County5b-11.2°F
Chenango County5b-12.2°F
Clinton County5a-16.4°F
Columbia County6a-8.8°F
Cortland County5b-12.5°F
Delaware County5b-13.7°F
Dutchess County6a-7.3°F
Erie County6a-6.2°F
Essex County4a-25.5°F
Franklin County4a-26.6°F
Fulton County5a-18.4°F
Genesee County6a-6.7°F
Greene County5b-13.8°F
Hamilton County4a-25.2°F
Herkimer County4b-23.3°F
Jefferson County5a-16.1°F
Kings County7b8.6°F
Lewis County4b-20.7°F
Livingston County6a-7.9°F
Madison County5b-13°F
Monroe County6b-2.5°F
Montgomery County5b-11°F
Nassau County7b8°F
New York County7b8.4°F
Niagara County6b-3.8°F
Oneida County5b-13.6°F
Onondaga County6a-9.1°F
Ontario County6b-4.9°F
Orange County6b-3°F
Orleans County6b-4.1°F
Oswego County5b-10.9°F
Otsego County5b-13.5°F
Putnam County6b-3.7°F
Queens County7b8.6°F
Rensselaer County5b-12°F
Richmond County7b6.9°F
Rockland County7a1°F
Saratoga County5b-14.5°F
Schenectady County5b-13.6°F
Schoharie County5b-13°F
Schuyler County6b-2.6°F
Seneca County6b-4.1°F
St. Lawrence County4b-24°F
Steuben County5b-10.8°F
Suffolk County7a4.2°F
Sullivan County6a-8.1°F
Tioga County6a-8.9°F
Tompkins County6a-8.6°F
Ulster County6a-6.2°F
Warren County5a-18.6°F
Washington County5a-15.3°F
Wayne County6b-5°F
Westchester County7a0.7°F
Wyoming County6a-9.2°F
Yates County6a-7.1°F

The zones

A plant hardiness zone is set by the average of each winter’s single coldest temperature, 1991 to 2020: zones are 10°F apart and each half zone, a and b, 5°F. It says how cold a winter night usually gets, not the coldest it has ever been, and nothing about summer heat, rain or soil. Plant labels give the coldest zone a perennial survives in.

ZoneAverage coldest nightIn Celsius
4a-30 to -25°F-34.4 to -31.7°C
4b-25 to -20°F-31.7 to -28.9°C
5a-20 to -15°F-28.9 to -26.1°C
5b-15 to -10°F-26.1 to -23.3°C
6a-10 to -5°F-23.3 to -20.6°C
6b-5 to 0°F-20.6 to -17.8°C
7a0 to 5°F-17.8 to -15.0°C
7b5 to 10°F-15.0 to -12.2°C

Sources

Hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, from the GIS data of the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, which may be freely reproduced and redistributed. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.