Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in Colorado
Colorado carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 9, with 100% of its 65 counties at A or B. 0 counties are in the F (extreme) tier, typically along major rivers or flood-prone basins. Statewide NFIP take-up is modest at 152 total claims.
Grade Distribution Across Colorado
The grade mix is dominated by A — 100% of counties — meaning the typical place in this state has very low historical flood loss. The handful of B/C/D/F counties below define where risk is concentrated.
How Colorado Compares Nationally
The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. Colorado sits at 9, which is 3 points below the national average — meaningfully less flood-exposed than the typical U.S. state. 224 federal flood-related disaster declarations across 65 counties — averaging 3.4 per county, well above the U.S. norm. The state experiences large-loss flood events on a recurring basis.
For full national context — every state ranked by average score and total claims — see the all-states overview. The riskiest-counties ranking and highest-payouts ranking drill into where loss is concentrated. Real-time stream-gauge readings are at USGS Water Data.
How Colorado's Risk Is Calculated
Every county in Colorado is scored on the same four factors that drive every county nationwide: NFIP claims density (40%), federally declared flood-disaster frequency (25%), average claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%). Source data comes from the public FEMA flood-mapping program and OpenFEMA endpoints. Detailed weighting math, plus the data's known limitations (county-level granularity, NFIP-participation bias, historical bias), is on the methodology page.
All 65 Counties in Colorado
Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.
| # | County | Grade | Score | Claims | Payouts | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boulder | A | 18 | 15 | $111,746 | 6 |
| 2 | Logan | A | 12 | 1 | $0 | 8 |
| 3 | Larimer | A | 12 | 3 | $0 | 8 |
| 4 | Adams | A | 11 | 7 | $20,982 | 6 |
| 5 | Morgan | A | 11 | 2 | $0 | 7 |
| 6 | Washington | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 7 |
| 7 | Weld | A | 11 | 5 | $16,491 | 7 |
| 8 | Baca | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 9 | Elbert | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 5 |
| 10 | Fremont | A | 10 | 3 | $152,635 | 4 |
| 11 | Pueblo | A | 10 | 3 | $0 | 5 |
| 12 | Saguache | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 13 | Sedgwick | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 5 |
| 14 | Lincoln | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 15 | Arapahoe | A | 10 | 16 | $81,735 | 6 |
| 16 | Clear Creek | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 5 |
| 17 | Delta | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 18 | Dolores | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 19 | Douglas | A | 10 | 5 | $30,538 | 4 |
| 20 | Hinsdale | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 21 | Montrose | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 22 | Ouray | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 23 | San Miguel | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 24 | Park | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 25 | Yuma | A | 9 | 1 | $77,727 | 2 |
| 26 | Crowley | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 27 | Gilpin | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 28 | Lake | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 29 | Broomfield | A | 9 | 3 | $147,918 | 2 |
| 30 | Alamosa | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 31 | Archuleta | A | 9 | 1 | $1,404 | 3 |
| 32 | Cheyenne | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 33 | Conejos | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 34 | Costilla | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 35 | Eagle | A | 9 | 1 | $0 | 2 |
| 36 | Garfield | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 37 | Gunnison | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 38 | Kiowa | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 39 | Kit Carson | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 40 | La Plata | A | 9 | 7 | $401,624 | 3 |
| 41 | Mesa | A | 9 | 2 | $11,413 | 2 |
| 42 | Mineral | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 43 | Moffat | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 44 | Montezuma | A | 9 | 2 | $0 | 3 |
| 45 | Otero | A | 9 | 3 | $11,166 | 2 |
| 46 | Phillips | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 47 | Pitkin | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 48 | Prowers | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 49 | Rio Blanco | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 50 | Rio Grande | A | 9 | 1 | $0 | 3 |
| 51 | Routt | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 52 | San Juan | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 53 | Teller | A | 9 | 1 | $0 | 3 |
| 54 | Statewide | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 55 | Bent | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 56 | Chaffee | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 57 | Custer | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 58 | Grand | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 59 | Huerfano | A | 8 | 1 | $0 | 1 |
| 60 | Jackson | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 61 | Las Animas | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 62 | Summit | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 63 | Denver | A | 6 | 14 | $29,205 | 5 |
| 64 | El Paso | A | 6 | 41 | $170,040 | 8 |
| 65 | Jefferson | A | 6 | 14 | $312,158 | 6 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average flood risk score in Colorado?
Colorado's average composite flood risk score is 9 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 65 county scores. That is 3 points below the U.S. county-level average of 12. Score components: 40% claims density, 25% disaster frequency, 20% claim severity, 15% trend.
Which counties in Colorado have the highest flood risk?
The riskiest county in Colorado is Boulder with a composite score of 18 (grade A). The next four — Logan, Larimer, Adams, Morgan — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.
How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has Colorado filed?
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 152 claims on file from Colorado, with combined payouts of $1,576,782 across the dataset. 24 of the state's 65 counties have at least one NFIP claim recorded.
Are FEMA flood maps the same as your risk score?
No. The flood risk score on this page is a county-wide composite drawn from claims, disasters, severity, and trend. FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs, available at fema.gov/flood-maps) are parcel-level zone designations based on hydrologic modeling. The two answer different questions; serious decisions about insurance or building should use both, plus real-time hydrology from USGS Water Data.
When was the Colorado data last updated?
These figures were refreshed from the OpenFEMA API on 2026-05-16. FEMA itself publishes new NFIP claims on a quarterly cycle, so the data may lag actual events by up to three months.
Flood risk profile for Colorado: 65 counties, 152 NFIP claims, average composite score 9.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.