The temperature water boils at for your elevation or air pressure
Updated October 2026
Two steps. First, air pressure from elevation, using the U.S. Standard Atmosphere (1976): P = 101.325 kPa × (1 − 0.0000225577 × h)5.25588, with h in meters. Denver’s 5,280 ft is 1,609 m, giving 83.4 kPa. Second, the temperature at which water’s vapor pressure reaches that pressure, from the Antoine equation with NIST’s parameters for water: log10(P in bar) = 5.08354 − 1663.125 ÷ (T + (−45.622)), solved for T in kelvin. For 0.834 bar that is 367.8 K, or 94.6 °C (202.4 °F). If you know the actual barometric pressure, enter it instead of elevation; it already includes the weather.
| Place or elevation | Pressure (kPa) | Boils at (°F) | Boils at (°C) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea level | 101.3 | 212.0 | 100.0 |
| Death Valley, 282 ft below sea level | 102.4 | 212.5 | 100.3 |
| 2,000 ft | 94.2 | 208.4 | 98.0 |
| Denver, 5,280 ft (default) | 83.4 | 202.4 | 94.6 |
| Lake Tahoe, 6,225 ft | 80.5 | 200.6 | 93.7 |
| 7,500 ft | 76.7 | 198.3 | 92.4 |
| 10,000 ft | 69.7 | 193.7 | 89.8 |
| La Rinconada, Peru, 16,700 ft | 53.4 | 181.4 | 83.0 |
| Mount Everest summit, 29,029 ft (standard atmosphere) | 31.4 | 158.4 | 70.2 |
These match published figures to within 1 °F: USDA gives 208 °F at 2,000 ft and about 198 °F at 7,500 ft; Pew Research Center cites about 202 °F in Denver and 181 °F at La Rinconada. Everest is the exception: the standard atmosphere predicts 31.4 kPa at the summit, but the pressure measured there in 1981 was 253 Torr (33.7 kPa), higher because pressure near the equator runs above the standard model. At that measured pressure water boils at 161.3 °F, within 1 °F of the commonly cited 162 °F.
Most cookbooks treat 3,000 ft as the start of high altitude. Because water cannot get hotter than its boiling point in an open pot, pasta, beans, eggs and simmered meats cook more slowly; turning up the burner only boils the water away faster. USDA notes that meat and poultry cooked by moist heat can take up to a quarter longer at 5,000 ft, while oven roasting follows sea-level times because the oven’s temperature does not depend on altitude. A pressure cooker raises the pressure, and with it the boiling point, which is why canning low-acid foods at any altitude uses a pressure canner (see the canning altitude calculator).
Weather moves pressure a few kilopascals. A strong storm at sea level with 98 kPa lowers the boiling point to 210.3 °F, about one degree; a high-pressure day raises it slightly. The elevation mode uses the standard atmosphere, so enter a barometer reading for the exact value. Weather apps usually report pressure adjusted to sea level, which is not the pressure at your elevation; use station pressure.
The calculator is for pure water. Salt raises the boiling point slightly, and sugar syrups much more, so candy and jelly temperatures need a thermometer and the usual high-altitude adjustment. The standard atmosphere is an average model: real pressure at a given elevation varies with latitude, season and weather, as the Everest measurements show.
Using sea-level pressure from a weather app. That number is corrected to sea level and gives the sea-level boiling point.
Assuming lower boiling means unsafe water. CDC calls boiling the best way to kill disease-causing organisms: a full rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 ft.
Raising the heat to cook faster. An open pot cannot pass its boiling point; add time instead.
Mixing up Celsius and Fahrenheit rules of thumb. “About 1 °F per 500 ft” is roughly 1 °C per 300 m.