Vegas lands in No. 3 spot on sweatiest cities list

R. Marsh Starks / Las Vegas Sun

Vanessa Vega, top, and her sister, Crystal, cool off in front of a fan-forced mister at Hawaiian Marketplace on Las Vegas Boulevard in this June 2004 file photo. The pair were visiting from Los Angeles.

By Cara McCoy (contact)

Thursday, July 2, 2009 | 1:05 p.m.

Las Vegas is known for its glittering lights, expansive entertainment and luxurious casinos. According to deodorant maker Old Spice, it’s also making a name for itself in pit stains.

An annual study from Old Spice has ranked Las Vegas the No. 3 sweatiest city in the country, trailing only Phoenix and San Antonio, Texas.

After eight years of conducting the study, Old Spice has dubbed Phoenix as the all-time “Undisputed Sweatiest City.” In earning the title, the surveyors said Phoenix's average temperature was 94 degrees in June, July and August during 2001 to 2008, resulting in the average Phoenix resident producing 27.7 ounces of sweat per hour, or “more than two cans of soda.”

The Arizona city has been at the top of the list six of the eight years that Old Spice has conducted the survey. In a nod to Phoenix's average temperature, Old Spice sent 94 sticks of deodorant to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to donate to charity.

"As temperatures heat up this summer, people across the country can't help but think about the sweat that comes with the season -- and Old Spice developed its annual Sweatiest Cities rankings as a fun way to get them talking about the problem and how to cope with it," James Moorhead, Old Spice deodorant brand manager, said in a statement released with the survey.

Old Spice ranks cities based on computer simulations of the amount of sweat a person of average height and weight would produce walking for an hour in the average temperatures during the summer months, based on historical weather data during June, July and August from 2001 to 2008.

Texas and Florida make the most appearances on the list of the Top 20 cities. In Texas, San Antonio is followed by Dallas (No. 4), Houston (No. 5), El Paso (No. 13), Waco (No. 15), Austin (No. 16) and Corpus Christi (No. 19).

“Collectively, these seven cities produce more than 1.3 million gallons of sweat each summer -- enough to fill the 400,000-gallon Dolphin Bay at the Texas State Aquarium more than three times,” Old Spice said in a press release.

In Florida, Miami comes in at No. 7, followed by West Palm Beach (No. 8), Tampa (No. 9), Orlando (No. 10) and Fort Myers (No. 14).

“Although Texas has more cities on the list, Florida actually comes out on top when it comes to quantity of sweat (due to larger populations),” Old Spice said. “Collectively, the five Florida cities produce nearly 2 million gallons of sweat -- enough to fill Shamu's tank in about 3.25 hours (that's 6.5 million gallons).”

Typical Las Vegas weather involves sunny skies and little rainfall. The weather is sunny about 310 days a year, according to records kept by the National Weather Service.

Last year, the average temperatures for June, July and August were 99, 98 and 99 degrees, respectively, according to weather service records.

Although weather this summer has so far been mild compared to years’ past, it’s no excuse to skimp on the deodorant: The average high temperature last month was 94 degrees, although that's about five degrees shy of the 98.9 average in a typical year.