Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in Nevada
Nevada carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 9, with 100% of its 18 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 49 total claims.
Grade Distribution Across Nevada
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 Nevada Compares Nationally
The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. Nevada sits at 9, which is 3 points below the national average — meaningfully less flood-exposed than the typical U.S. state. 42 federal flood-related disaster declarations on file across 18 counties — roughly 2.3 per county on average. This is broadly typical for U.S. states with mixed terrain.
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 Nevada
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Moapa River Indian Reservation | A | 11 |
| Douglas | A | 10 |
| Lyon | A | 10 |
| Storey | A | 10 |
| Clark | A | 9 |
How Nevada's Risk Is Calculated
Every county in Nevada 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 18 Counties in Nevada
Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.
| # | County | Grade | Score | Claims | Payouts | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moapa River Indian Reservation | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 2 | Douglas | A | 10 | 8 | $186,721 | 4 |
| 3 | Lyon | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 4 | Storey | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 5 | Clark | A | 9 | 5 | $159,026 | 3 |
| 6 | Eureka | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 7 | Humboldt | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 8 | Lincoln | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 9 | Mineral | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 10 | Washoe | A | 9 | 20 | $934,973 | 3 |
| 11 | White Pine | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 12 | Carson City | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 13 | Churchill | A | 8 | 2 | $14,820 | 1 |
| 14 | Elko | A | 8 | 3 | $15,283 | 1 |
| 15 | Esmeralda | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 16 | Lander | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 17 | Pershing | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 18 | Nye | A | 7 | 11 | $27,094 | 1 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average flood risk score in Nevada?
Nevada's average composite flood risk score is 9 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 18 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 Nevada have the highest flood risk?
The riskiest county in Nevada is Moapa River Indian Reservation with a composite score of 11 (grade A). The next four — Douglas, Lyon, Storey, Clark — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.
How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has Nevada filed?
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 49 claims on file from Nevada, with combined payouts of $1,337,917 across the dataset. 6 of the state's 18 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 Nevada 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 Nevada: 18 counties, 49 NFIP claims, average composite score 9.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
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.