Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in New Mexico
New Mexico carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 10, with 100% of its 34 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 104 total claims.
Grade Distribution Across New Mexico
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 New Mexico Compares Nationally
The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. New Mexico sits at 10, which is right around the national average. 132 federal flood-related disaster declarations across 34 counties — averaging 3.9 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.
Riskiest in New Mexico
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| San Miguel | A | 18 |
| Valencia | A | 15 |
| Lincoln | A | 13 |
| Pueblo of Acoma | A | 12 |
| Catron | A | 11 |
Safest in New Mexico
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bernalillo | A | 8 |
| Curry | A | 8 |
| Luna | A | 8 |
| Quay | A | 8 |
| Roosevelt | A | 8 |
How New Mexico's Risk Is Calculated
Every county in New Mexico 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 34 Counties in New Mexico
Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.
| # | County | Grade | Score | Claims | Payouts | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Miguel | A | 18 | 20 | $69,229 | 5 |
| 2 | Valencia | A | 15 | 9 | $119,405 | 3 |
| 3 | Lincoln | A | 13 | 25 | $1,758,762 | 10 |
| 4 | Pueblo of Acoma | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 9 |
| 5 | Catron | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 7 |
| 6 | McKinley | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 7 | Mora | A | 11 | 7 | $68,043 | 6 |
| 8 | Grant | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 9 | Hidalgo | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 10 | Chaves | A | 10 | 18 | $1,267,177 | 4 |
| 11 | Cibola | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 12 | Colfax | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 13 | Dona Ana | A | 10 | 3 | $0 | 4 |
| 14 | Los Alamos | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 15 | Otero | A | 10 | 4 | $25,171 | 5 |
| 16 | Rio Arriba | A | 10 | 1 | $0 | 4 |
| 17 | Sandoval | A | 10 | 1 | $30,373 | 5 |
| 18 | Santa Fe | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 19 | Sierra | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 20 | Taos | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 4 |
| 21 | DeBaca | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 22 | Eddy | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 23 | Guadalupe | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 24 | Harding | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 25 | San Juan | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 26 | Socorro | A | 9 | 2 | $52,539 | 3 |
| 27 | Torrance | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 28 | Lea | A | 9 | 5 | $17,260 | 2 |
| 29 | Union | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 2 |
| 30 | Bernalillo | A | 8 | 4 | $7,326 | 1 |
| 31 | Curry | A | 8 | 2 | $53,573 | 1 |
| 32 | Luna | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 33 | Quay | A | 8 | 0 | $0 | 1 |
| 34 | Roosevelt | A | 8 | 3 | $103,118 | 1 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average flood risk score in New Mexico?
New Mexico's average composite flood risk score is 10 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 34 county scores. That is roughly equal to the U.S. county-level average of 12. Score components: 40% claims density, 25% disaster frequency, 20% claim severity, 15% trend.
Which counties in New Mexico have the highest flood risk?
The riskiest county in New Mexico is San Miguel with a composite score of 18 (grade A). The next four — Valencia, Lincoln, Pueblo of Acoma, Catron — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.
How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has New Mexico filed?
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 104 claims on file from New Mexico, with combined payouts of $3,571,976 across the dataset. 14 of the state's 34 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico: 34 counties, 104 NFIP claims, average composite score 10.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
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.