Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in District of Columbia
District of Columbia carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 6, with 100% of its 1 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 47 total claims.
Grade Distribution Across District of Columbia
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 District of Columbia Compares Nationally
The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. District of Columbia sits at 6, which is 6 points below the national average — meaningfully less flood-exposed than the typical U.S. state. 6 federal flood-related disaster declarations across 1 counties is one of the highest counts in the dataset — about 6.0 per county. Most counties have lived through multiple federally declared floods.
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.
Riskiest in District of Columbia
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | A | 6 |
Safest in District of Columbia
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | A | 6 |
How District of Columbia's Risk Is Calculated
Every county in District of Columbia 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 1 Counties in District of Columbia
Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.
| # | County | Grade | Score | Claims | Payouts | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | A | 6 | 47 | $202,360 | 6 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average flood risk score in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia's average composite flood risk score is 6 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 1 county scores. That is 6 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 District of Columbia have the highest flood risk?
The riskiest county in District of Columbia is District of Columbia with a composite score of 6 (grade A). The next four — N/A — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.
How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has District of Columbia filed?
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 47 claims on file from District of Columbia, with combined payouts of $202,360 across the dataset. 1 of the state's 1 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 District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia: 1 counties, 47 NFIP claims, average composite score 6.
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.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.