Where does a backyard sauna make the most sense? We built an index from three public data sets for all 48 contiguous states: how cold the winters are, what electricity costs, and how many households own their home. Wyoming ranks first with 88.1 of 100 points. California ranks last with 16.5.
Below are the key findings, the full ranking with every input, and the method, so you can check or re-weight the numbers yourself.
Sauna State Index 2026: the key findings
- Wyoming leads with 88.1 points: long cold winters (8,053 heating degree days a year), electricity at 14.43¢ per kWh and a 73.8% homeownership rate.
- The top five are Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Utah. All five are cold, affordable to heat, and have many homeowners.
- California ranks last with 16.5 points: mild winters, 29.75¢ electricity and a 55.3% homeownership rate. New York and Massachusetts are next from the bottom.
- Cold alone does not decide it. Maine has some of the coldest winters in the country but ranks 35th, because it has the highest electricity price in the lower 48 (32.11¢).
Top 10 states for a backyard sauna
| Rank | State | Index | Heating degree days | ¢ per kWh | Homeownership % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 88.1 | 8,053 | 14.43 | 73.8 |
| 2 | Montana | 83.5 | 8,362 | 15.57 | 70.8 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 81.9 | 8,927 | 13.31 | 64.8 |
| 4 | Minnesota | 80.9 | 8,224 | 17.2 | 71.4 |
| 5 | Utah | 77.8 | 6,765 | 13.31 | 68.3 |
| 6 | Idaho | 77.7 | 6,708 | 13.37 | 68.5 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 77.3 | 4,742 | 16.31 | 78.1 |
| 8 | South Dakota | 76.9 | 7,439 | 15.15 | 68.0 |
| 9 | Iowa | 73.0 | 6,533 | 17.06 | 70.3 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 72.8 | 6,035 | 13.54 | 67.0 |
Bottom 10
| Rank | State | Index | Heating degree days | ¢ per kWh | Homeownership % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | California | 16.5 | 2,647 | 29.75 | 55.3 |
| 47 | New York | 26.4 | 5,667 | 28.65 | 52.2 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 36.7 | 5,758 | 30.48 | 62.4 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 43.1 | 5,428 | 28.18 | 65.3 |
| 44 | New Jersey | 45.2 | 4,853 | 24.61 | 63.9 |
| 43 | Texas | 46.9 | 1,659 | 15.91 | 63.5 |
| 42 | Florida | 47.5 | 509 | 14.99 | 66.2 |
| 41 | Georgia | 50.5 | 2,490 | 15.9 | 63.7 |
| 40 | Connecticut | 51.4 | 5,506 | 24.51 | 66.6 |
| 39 | Nevada | 53.4 | 3,347 | 12.72 | 59.1 |
The bottom of the table splits into two groups. In the Northeast and California, high power prices and lower homeownership pull the score down. In Texas, Florida and Georgia, the problem is the short heating season.
How the index works
- Cold (demand): annual heating degree days, base 65°F, statewide, averaged 2015–2024, from NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. More degree days means colder winters and a higher score.
- Power price (running cost): average residential price per kWh, August 2026 (preliminary), from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A. A lower price means a higher score. Our outdoor sauna electricity cost by state study turns these prices into dollars per month.
- Homeownership (room to build): homeownership rate by state, average of the four quarters of 2025, from the U.S. Census Bureau Housing Vacancy Survey, Table 3. A higher rate means a higher score.
- Index: each factor is scaled from 0 to 100 across the 48 states (lowest = 0, highest = 100). The three scores are averaged with equal weight. Equal weighting is a judgment call, so the full table shows each score separately.
Full table: all 48 contiguous states
| Rank | State | Index | Heating degree days (avg 2015–2024) | ¢ per kWh (Aug 2026) | Homeownership % (2025) | Cold score | Power-price score | Homeownership score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 88.1 | 8,053 | 14.43 | 73.8 | 89.6 | 91.2 | 83.4 |
| 2 | Montana | 83.5 | 8,362 | 15.57 | 70.8 | 93.3 | 85.3 | 71.8 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 81.9 | 8,927 | 13.31 | 64.8 | 100.0 | 97.0 | 48.6 |
| 4 | Minnesota | 80.9 | 8,224 | 17.2 | 71.4 | 91.6 | 76.9 | 74.1 |
| 5 | Utah | 77.8 | 6,765 | 13.31 | 68.3 | 74.3 | 97.0 | 62.2 |
| 6 | Idaho | 77.7 | 6,708 | 13.37 | 68.5 | 73.6 | 96.6 | 62.9 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 77.3 | 4,742 | 16.31 | 78.1 | 50.3 | 81.5 | 100.0 |
| 8 | South Dakota | 76.9 | 7,439 | 15.15 | 68.0 | 82.3 | 87.5 | 61.0 |
| 9 | Iowa | 73.0 | 6,533 | 17.06 | 70.3 | 71.6 | 77.6 | 69.9 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 72.8 | 6,035 | 13.54 | 67.0 | 65.6 | 95.8 | 57.1 |
| 11 | Vermont | 72.5 | 7,677 | 23.84 | 75.4 | 85.2 | 42.7 | 89.6 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 71.4 | 4,090 | 13.8 | 72.2 | 42.5 | 94.4 | 77.2 |
| 13 | Indiana | 69.4 | 5,310 | 17.02 | 71.2 | 57.0 | 77.8 | 73.4 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 68.6 | 7,179 | 19.41 | 68.0 | 79.2 | 65.5 | 61.0 |
| 15 | Delaware | 67.6 | 4,209 | 18.7 | 75.4 | 44.0 | 69.2 | 89.6 |
| 16 | Michigan | 67.3 | 6,340 | 22.99 | 74.4 | 69.3 | 47.0 | 85.7 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 66.4 | 3,460 | 13.42 | 69.7 | 35.1 | 96.4 | 67.6 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 66.1 | 2,111 | 14.43 | 75.0 | 19.0 | 91.2 | 88.0 |
| 19 | New Mexico | 65.7 | 4,252 | 16.51 | 70.9 | 44.5 | 80.5 | 72.2 |
| 20 | Missouri | 65.1 | 4,699 | 16.02 | 68.4 | 49.8 | 83.0 | 62.5 |
| 21 | Colorado | 64.7 | 6,877 | 17.17 | 62.9 | 75.6 | 77.1 | 41.3 |
| 22 | Kansas | 64.6 | 4,626 | 15.47 | 67.5 | 48.9 | 85.8 | 59.1 |
| 23 | Ohio | 64.5 | 5,307 | 19.38 | 70.5 | 57.0 | 65.7 | 70.7 |
| 24 | Washington | 64.1 | 5,440 | 14.63 | 63.5 | 58.6 | 90.1 | 43.6 |
| 25 | Arkansas | 62.6 | 3,176 | 14.37 | 68.9 | 31.7 | 91.5 | 64.5 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 61.9 | 2,320 | 15.76 | 72.9 | 21.5 | 84.3 | 79.9 |
| 27 | Oregon | 61.7 | 5,086 | 15.92 | 64.4 | 54.4 | 83.5 | 47.1 |
| 28 | Illinois | 61.4 | 5,813 | 19.32 | 66.5 | 63.0 | 66.0 | 55.2 |
| 29 | New Hampshire | 60.8 | 7,065 | 27.64 | 73.3 | 77.9 | 23.1 | 81.5 |
| 30 | Virginia | 60.8 | 3,956 | 17.64 | 69.5 | 40.9 | 74.6 | 66.8 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | 60.6 | 5,375 | 21.77 | 70.5 | 57.8 | 53.3 | 70.7 |
| 32 | Alabama | 59.3 | 2,370 | 16.33 | 71.5 | 22.1 | 81.4 | 74.5 |
| 33 | Louisiana | 58.9 | 1,441 | 12.87 | 69.4 | 11.1 | 99.2 | 66.4 |
| 34 | Arizona | 56.8 | 1,828 | 15.05 | 69.5 | 15.7 | 88.0 | 66.8 |
| 35 | Maine | 56.1 | 7,388 | 32.11 | 74.6 | 81.7 | 0.0 | 86.5 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 55.8 | 3,328 | 14.82 | 63.8 | 33.5 | 89.2 | 44.8 |
| 37 | North Carolina | 55.6 | 3,069 | 14.95 | 64.6 | 30.4 | 88.5 | 47.9 |
| 38 | Maryland | 54.6 | 4,262 | 21.4 | 68.8 | 44.6 | 55.2 | 64.1 |
| 39 | Nevada | 53.4 | 3,347 | 12.72 | 59.1 | 33.7 | 100.0 | 26.6 |
| 40 | Connecticut | 51.4 | 5,506 | 24.51 | 66.6 | 59.4 | 39.2 | 55.6 |
| 41 | Georgia | 50.5 | 2,490 | 15.9 | 63.7 | 23.5 | 83.6 | 44.4 |
| 42 | Florida | 47.5 | 509 | 14.99 | 66.2 | 0.0 | 88.3 | 54.1 |
| 43 | Texas | 46.9 | 1,659 | 15.91 | 63.5 | 13.7 | 83.5 | 43.6 |
| 44 | New Jersey | 45.2 | 4,853 | 24.61 | 63.9 | 51.6 | 38.7 | 45.2 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 43.1 | 5,428 | 28.18 | 65.3 | 58.4 | 20.3 | 50.6 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 36.7 | 5,758 | 30.48 | 62.4 | 62.4 | 8.4 | 39.4 |
| 47 | New York | 26.4 | 5,667 | 28.65 | 52.2 | 61.3 | 17.8 | 0.0 |
| 48 | California | 16.5 | 2,647 | 29.75 | 55.3 | 25.4 | 12.2 | 12.0 |
What this index does not measure
- Sauna ownership or sales. This is an index of conditions, not of how many saunas exist.
- Local rules and space: permits, HOA restrictions, lot sizes and yard space.
- Differences within states (city vs. countryside), gas or firewood costs, and income.
- Alaska and Hawaii, which are outside our delivery area.
What it means if you are planning a backyard sauna
A low rank does not rule a sauna out. It means the running cost or the season deserves a closer look. In a high-price state, a wood-burning stove avoids the electricity bill, and a smaller, well-sealed sauna heats faster. In a cold state, a sauna gets used for more of the year.
- Canadian Timber MiniPOD, $5,956.50: a compact pod that seats 4.
- Canadian Timber barrel saunas, from $5,976.50: Harmony, Serenity and Tranquility, seating 4 to 6.
- Canadian Timber cabin saunas, from $6,136.50: Granby, Palmer and Georgian.
Heaters are sold separately; see our sauna heaters. Browse every model in outdoor saunas, or start with our outdoor sauna buying guide and what an outdoor sauna costs.
Data: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance (heating degree days, 2015–2024), U.S. EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (August 2026, preliminary), U.S. Census Bureau Housing Vacancy Survey Table 3 (2025). Analysis by Domaform, October 2026. You are welcome to cite or reproduce the table with a link to this page.