Updated May 2026
Flood Risk in North Dakota
North Dakota carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 15, with 100% of its 54 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 North Dakota
The grade mix is dominated by A — 96% 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 North Dakota Compares Nationally
The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. North Dakota sits at 15, which is 3 points above the national average — meaningfully more flood-exposed than the typical U.S. state. 720 federal flood-related disaster declarations across 54 counties is one of the highest counts in the dataset — about 13.3 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.
Safest in North Dakota
| County | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bowman | A | 9 |
| Slope | A | 9 |
| Golden Valley | A | 10 |
| Billings | A | 10 |
| Dunn | A | 11 |
How North Dakota's Risk Is Calculated
Every county in North Dakota 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 54 Counties in North Dakota
Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.
| # | County | Grade | Score | Claims | Payouts | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pembina | B | 21 | 0 | $0 | 25 |
| 2 | Walsh | B | 21 | 1 | $1,926 | 26 |
| 3 | Richland | A | 20 | 0 | $0 | 23 |
| 4 | Traill | A | 19 | 1 | $17,417 | 22 |
| 5 | Barnes | A | 18 | 1 | $0 | 20 |
| 6 | LaMoure | A | 18 | 0 | $0 | 19 |
| 7 | Ransom | A | 18 | 1 | $0 | 19 |
| 8 | Dickey | A | 17 | 0 | $0 | 18 |
| 9 | McHenry | A | 17 | 0 | $0 | 17 |
| 10 | Morton | A | 17 | 1 | $306 | 17 |
| 11 | Nelson | A | 17 | 0 | $0 | 18 |
| 12 | Sargent | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 16 |
| 13 | Steele | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 15 |
| 14 | Wells | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 15 |
| 15 | Benson | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 16 |
| 16 | Bottineau | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 15 |
| 17 | Cass | A | 16 | 9 | $6,957 | 23 |
| 18 | Stutsman | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 16 |
| 19 | Ward | A | 16 | 3 | $5,463 | 15 |
| 20 | Ramsey | A | 16 | 0 | $0 | 16 |
| 21 | Grand Forks | A | 15 | 25 | $112,465 | 24 |
| 22 | Mercer | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 14 |
| 23 | Mountrail | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 13 |
| 24 | Towner | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 14 |
| 25 | Renville | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 14 |
| 26 | Rolette | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 14 |
| 27 | Foster | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 13 |
| 28 | Logan | A | 15 | 1 | $7,103 | 13 |
| 29 | Eddy | A | 15 | 0 | $0 | 14 |
| 30 | Emmons | A | 15 | 3 | $5,260 | 14 |
| 31 | Cavalier | A | 14 | 0 | $0 | 12 |
| 32 | Burleigh | A | 14 | 2 | $0 | 12 |
| 33 | Burke | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 34 | Hettinger | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 35 | Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 36 | Pierce | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 11 |
| 37 | Kidder | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 38 | Sheridan | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 39 | Griggs | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 40 | Grant | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 11 |
| 41 | McLean | A | 13 | 0 | $0 | 10 |
| 42 | McIntosh | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 9 |
| 43 | Divide | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 9 |
| 44 | Oliver | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 9 |
| 45 | Sioux | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 9 |
| 46 | Stark | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 8 |
| 47 | Williams | A | 12 | 0 | $0 | 8 |
| 48 | Dunn | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 7 |
| 49 | Adams | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 50 | McKenzie | A | 11 | 0 | $0 | 6 |
| 51 | Golden Valley | A | 10 | 0 | $0 | 5 |
| 52 | Billings | A | 10 | 1 | $18,555 | 4 |
| 53 | Bowman | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
| 54 | Slope | A | 9 | 0 | $0 | 3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average flood risk score in North Dakota?
North Dakota's average composite flood risk score is 15 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 54 county scores. That is 3 points above the U.S. county-level average of 12. Score components: 40% claims density, 25% disaster frequency, 20% claim severity, 15% trend.
Which counties in North Dakota have the highest flood risk?
The riskiest county in North Dakota is Pembina with a composite score of 21 (grade B). The next four — Walsh, Richland, Traill, Barnes — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.
How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has North Dakota filed?
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 49 claims on file from North Dakota, with combined payouts of $175,452 across the dataset. 12 of the state's 54 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota: 54 counties, 49 NFIP claims, average composite score 15.
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.
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.
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.