Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in Harris, TX
Harris, TX has a Flood Risk Score of 74/100 (Grade D), ranking #1 of 3,277 counties nationwide. The risk level is High. There have been 12K NFIP flood-insurance claims totaling $1,030,942,000 in payouts, with 25 federal disaster declarations on record.
Key Data
What the Grade Means Here
Harris carries a D grade — high flood risk. The composite score of 74 ranks the county #1 of 3,277 nationwide. 12K NFIP flood-insurance claims and 25 federal disaster declarations are on file, totaling $1,030,942,000 in NFIP payouts. Homeowners in this county should treat federal flood-insurance coverage as essential, not optional, even outside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.
Within Texas, Harris runs 62 points above the state average composite score of 12 — meaningfully more flood-exposed than the typical county in the state. Rank: #1 of 255. The full Texas state profile shows how every county within the state compares.
What's Driving the Risk Score?
The single biggest driver of the composite score in this county is NFIP claims density (40% of the formula, factor score 100). For Harris, that means the volume of NFIP flood-insurance claims relative to the county is the strongest signal — flooding has historically been frequent enough to file claims in measurable numbers.
The trend factor is low (2 of 100), suggesting flood-loss volume has been stable or declining over the dataset window. This is a positive signal — the historical average remains the best estimate of forward risk.
Score Breakdown
| Factor | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Claims Density | 100 | 40% |
| Disaster Frequency | 53 | 25% |
| Claim Severity | 100 | 20% |
| Year-over-Year Trend | 2 | 15% |
How This Score Is Calculated
The composite is a weighted average of four FEMA-derived factors. Source data comes from the public FEMA flood-mapping program via the OpenFEMA API. For property-level decisions, layer this with the parcel's FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map zone and recent crest readings from USGS Water Data. Full math: methodology page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the flood risk in Harris, TX?
Harris, TX has a Flood Risk Score of 74/100 (Grade D), ranking #1 of 3,277 counties nationwide. The risk level is High. There have been 12K NFIP flood-insurance claims totaling $1,030,942,000 in payouts, with 25 federal disaster declarations on record.
Is flood insurance required in Harris?
Federal law requires flood insurance for any property in a Special Flood Hazard Area (FEMA Zone A or V) financed by a federally regulated lender. Harris's county-wide composite score is 74 (Grade D), which is a county aggregate — your specific parcel's flood-zone designation comes from the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) at fema.gov/flood-maps. Even when not legally required, NFIP coverage is often available for a few hundred dollars a year in moderate- and low-risk zones, and FEMA reports more than 25% of all NFIP claims come from outside high-risk zones.
What is driving the flood risk score in Harris?
The single biggest driver of the composite score in this county is NFIP claims density (40% of the formula, factor score 100). For Harris, that means the volume of NFIP flood-insurance claims relative to the county is the strongest signal — flooding has historically been frequent enough to file claims in measurable numbers.
Is flood risk increasing or decreasing in Harris?
The trend factor is low (2 of 100), suggesting flood-loss volume has been stable or declining over the dataset window. This is a positive signal — the historical average remains the best estimate of forward risk.
How does Harris compare to other counties in Texas?
Within Texas, Harris runs 62 points above the state average composite score of 12 — meaningfully more flood-exposed than the typical county in the state. Rank: #1 of 255.
Where does this data come from?
Every figure on this page comes from FEMA's public OpenFEMA API — the DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 endpoint (federally declared flood-related disasters) and the FimaNfipClaims endpoint (individual NFIP flood-insurance claims aggregated by county FIPS code). Both are public-domain U.S. government work. Real-time stream-gauge readings that complement these federal aggregates live at USGS Water Data. Last updated 2026-05-16.
Harris, TX has a Flood Risk Score of 74/100 (Grade D), ranking #1 of 3,277 counties nationwide. The risk level is High. There have been 12K NFIP flood-insurance claims totaling $1,030,942,000 in payouts, with 25 federal disaster declarations on record.
The data source behind this answer is FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. Every figure on the page traces back to that source; the methodology page describes the inputs and the refresh cadence in full detail.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.