No Sweat: Seattle No Longer the Country’s Least Air-Conditioned City

Whew!

Seattle no longer holds the title of America's least air-conditioned city — a distinction that now belongs to San Francisco, according to a report. 

After sweating out a series of heatwaves the past few summers in the Puget Sound area, Seattle residents that have long been A/C holdouts are giving in and buying units or dusting off old ones, KIRO reported.

More than 50% of Seattle residents for the first time are using air conditioning as a primary cooling source, the report said, citing an analysis of Census data. 

The report said of the 1.6 million housing units in the Seattle area, roughly 53%, or 844,400, had a primary air-conditioning source, with about 21% employing central air and nearly 30% relying on a window unit.

The Pacific Northwest has experienced record-breaking heat over the past several years, including sustained temperatures in the triple digits, a rarity for the oft-cloudy region.

Five years ago, only about 30% of housing units in the Seattle area used air conditioning, making it the least air-conditioned metropolitan area in the country, according to the Census' American Housing Survey, which measured 41 regions. 

The national average that year was 89%, the report said. 

San Francisco, with approximately 45% of homes using A/C, is now the least air-conditioned metro area, the report said, once again citing Census data.

“I’ve been adding it over the years,” Mike Nguyen of Renton, a Seattle suburb, told the station. “I just keep upgrading and changing new ones.”

The switch from working in an office to home during the pandemic also prompted some to spring for A/C.

“I work from home. I don’t want to be uncomfortable when I’m working," said Elliot Reposa, a resident of Des Moines, a city midway between Seattle and Tacoma. 

Unsurprisingly, America's most air-conditioned city is Phoenix, which recently sweltered through a record heatwave. Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and Dallas round out the top five.