Raising Alpacas Where You Live: Climate Guides for Every County

Choose your state

Tiles are shaded by the typical number of days above 90°F (32°C) — the biggest climate stress for alpacas.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Days ≥90°F:<5 5–20 20–45 45–75 75–110 110+

All states

Alabama67 counties Alaska30 counties Arizona15 counties Arkansas75 counties California58 counties Colorado64 counties Connecticut8 counties Delaware3 counties District of Columbia1 counties Florida67 counties Georgia159 counties Hawaii5 counties Idaho44 counties Illinois102 counties Indiana92 counties Iowa99 counties Kansas105 counties Kentucky120 counties Louisiana64 counties Maine16 counties Maryland24 counties Massachusetts14 counties Michigan83 counties Minnesota87 counties Mississippi82 counties Missouri115 counties Montana56 counties Nebraska93 counties Nevada17 counties New Hampshire10 counties New Jersey21 counties New Mexico33 counties New York62 counties North Carolina100 counties North Dakota53 counties Ohio88 counties Oklahoma77 counties Oregon36 counties Pennsylvania67 counties Rhode Island5 counties South Carolina46 counties South Dakota66 counties Tennessee95 counties Texas254 counties Utah29 counties Vermont14 counties Virginia133 counties Washington39 counties West Virginia55 counties Wisconsin72 counties Wyoming23 counties

The 25 most alpaca-friendly U.S. counties

Ranked by our climate comfort score, which rewards mild summers, short parasite seasons and moderate winters.

#	County	Score	Days ≥90°F	Frost nights
1	Alameda County, CA	100	12	12
2	Aleutians East Borough, AK	100	0	178
3	Alpine County, CA	100	0	181
4	Baker County, OR	100	8	166
5	Bannock County, ID	100	10	175
6	Boise County, ID	100	5	187
7	Boundary County, ID	100	0	180
8	Cache County, UT	100	4	179
9	Carson City, NV	100	16	142
10	Chelan County, WA	100	0	164
11	Crook County, OR	100	8	177
12	Delta County, CO	100	10	168
13	Deschutes County, OR	100	3	191
14	Douglas County, NV	100	11	153
15	Elko County, NV	100	12	189
16	Elmore County, ID	100	16	161
17	Franklin County, ID	100	9	180
18	Garfield County, UT	100	14	155
19	Grant County, OR	100	5	183
20	Harney County, OR	100	12	176
21	Iron County, UT	100	20	164
22	Island County, WA	100	0	45
23	Jefferson County, OR	100	8	147
24	Kittitas County, WA	100	2	151
25	Klamath County, OR	100	4	192

The 25 most challenging climates

Alpacas live here too — but owners need serious heat, parasite or cold management.

#	County	Score	Days ≥90°F	Frost nights	Worm months
1	Broward County, FL	18	105	0	12
2	Palm Beach County, FL	18	98	0	12
3	Miami-Dade County, FL	20	103	0	11
4	Martin County, FL	22	86	0	12
5	Okeechobee County, FL	28	93	0	12
6	St. Lucie County, FL	28	80	0	12
7	Collier County, FL	30	117	0	9
8	Hardee County, FL	30	102	0	11
9	Hendry County, FL	30	113	0	9
10	Highlands County, FL	30	103	0	11
11	Lee County, FL	30	105	0	9
12	Sarasota County, FL	30	99	0	11
13	Charlotte County, FL	32	106	0	10
14	DeSoto County, FL	32	104	0	10
15	Glades County, FL	32	106	0	10
16	Indian River County, FL	32	77	0	12
17	Monroe County, FL	32	103	0	8
18	Manatee County, FL	34	93	0	11
19	Osceola County, FL	34	93	0	11
20	Polk County, FL	34	99	0	11
21	Brevard County, FL	36	70	0	12
22	Flagler County, FL	36	73	1	12
23	Marion County, FL	36	89	2	12
24	Putnam County, FL	36	81	2	12
25	Seminole County, FL	36	89	0	12

Outside the United States

How we build these guides

Every one of the 3,143 county guides is computed from NOAA's 1991–2020 county climate normals, Open-Meteo humidity data and published veterinary rules of thumb — the heat-stress index, Gordon's bioclimatograph for barber pole worm, and regional selenium and meningeal worm maps. Read the methodology.