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Updated May 2026

Flood Risk in Texas

Texas carries a relatively low statewide average risk score of 12, with 100% of its 255 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 24K total claims.

255
Counties
24K
NFIP Claims
$1,872,344,357
Total Payouts
12
Avg Risk Score

Grade Distribution Across Texas

The grade mix is dominated by A — 95% 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.

A
242
counties
B
12
counties
C
0
counties
D
1
counties
F
0
counties

How Texas Compares Nationally

The U.S. county-level average composite score is 12. Texas sits at 12, which is right around the national average. 2025 federal flood-related disaster declarations across 255 counties is one of the highest counts in the dataset — about 7.9 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 Texas

CountyGradeScore
HarrisD74
CameronB24
ChambersB24
PolkB24
WallerB24

Safest in Texas

CountyGradeScore
GraysonA4
WichitaA5
HaysA6
ComalA6
LubbockA6

How Texas's Risk Is Calculated

Every county in Texas 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 255 Counties in Texas

Sorted by flood risk score, highest to lowest.

#CountyGradeScoreClaimsPayoutsDisasters
1HarrisD7412K$1,030,942,00025
2CameronB24380$21,389,01521
3ChambersB24179$13,580,95015
4PolkB2429$899,03817
5WallerB24119$6,894,83915
6WhartonB24132$8,416,87816
7GrimesB2312$109,72514
8AustinB2336$1,908,15214
9JasperB2318$401,30417
10FayetteB2117$1,987,68111
11GalvestonB211.8K$145,478,11421
12San JacintoB2130$1,195,36920
13WalkerB2135$1,465,62918
14BurnetA2069$2,696,7108
15BowieA1910$506,37511
16JacksonA196$52,94214
17KerrA1926$2,368,7048
18RefugioA187$285,27719
19VictoriaA1819$398,69817
20BrazoriaA181.1K$72,145,90322
21JeffersonA181.7K$155,771,90418
22LimestoneA1811$211,9226
23RandallA179$396,5284
24KlebergA168$118,33016
25NuecesA16736$22,913,36523
26WillacyA1629$813,15918
27MontgomeryA16967$74,056,45519
28KaufmanA169$278,2445
29SmithA1612$208,74713
30AndersonA152$42,75913
31DeWittA155$214,28813
32GoliadA150$014
33HidalgoA15425$17,357,97320
34HoustonA152$13,00513
35KenedyA150$014
36MadisonA151$34,87614
37NewtonA1570$4,177,42515
38SabineA151$013
39TylerA1512$220,43617
40Fort BendA15882$68,019,84018
41NacogdochesA152$100,28914
42OrangeA151.1K$105,852,25017
43ShelbyA150$013
44BeeA155$19,46514
45BrooksA150$013
46Jim HoggA150$013
47AransasA14464$10,924,11222
48CassA141$11,25412
49HarrisonA1417$469,35912
50San AugustineA140$012
51San PatricioA1481$1,552,32424
52MatagordaA1493$1,502,40920
53Jim WellsA1411$71,23120
54Live OakA140$012
55BurlesonA133$391,37110
56CherokeeA134$10,69711
57ColoradoA137$1,069,22710
58LavacaA131$011
59LeonA130$011
60RuskA132$12,52610
61WashingtonA138$82,17110
62LibertyA13222$14,140,26721
63TrinityA136$182,43214
64GonzalesA134$178,14710
65BexarA1367$881,35915
66DuvalA130$010
67MedinaA135$57,4737
68El PasoA1318$335,5546
69CalhounA1266$792,46920
70LeeA121$08
71MarionA122$54,7239
72MilamA121$12,6929
73MorrisA120$08
74PanolaA120$09
75UpshurA120$09
76BrownA128$193,3398
77CaldwellA1214$634,3349
78HillA122$5,0928
79Red RiverA120$09
80San SabaA121$08
81JonesA123$30,7458
82EastlandA1218$606,2188
83NavarroA129$188,8508
84Van ZandtA126$162,4766
85CallahanA120$08
86LlanoA1272$2,789,9477
87StarrA126$202,82512
88BastropA1229$1,292,8899
89KarnesA121$12,1118
90McMullenA120$08
91AtascosaA121$15,0678
92AngelinaA1123$611,63011
93CampA110$06
94FreestoneA111$28,4287
95RobertsonA110$07
96BlancoA113$417,5407
97BosqueA114$477,6037
98ColemanA110$07
99DeltaA110$06
100FanninA114$62,5497
101HamiltonA110$06
102HopkinsA111$2307
103LampasasA116$225,0466
104McCullochA110$06
105RainsA110$06
106TitusA111$1,7667
107CollinA1121$184,3807
108CookeA115$109,1877
109CoryellA114$282,8057
110FallsA110$06
111ComancheA110$06
112DimmitA110$06
113EdwardsA110$06
114FranklinA111$40,5016
115KimbleA111$40,4006
116MasonA110$07
117RealA110$07
118ThrockmortonA111$99,3477
119UvaldeA111$07
120BanderaA114$57,7317
121ParkerA1110$116,53410
122HoodA119$239,6316
123Palo PintoA114$106,1846
124StephensA111$06
125WoodA111$06
126Tom GreenA1121$1,066,3186
127La SalleA110$07
128ZapataA110$07
129WilsonA110$06
130WiseA117$220,9026
131StatewideA110$07
132FrioA110$06
133GillespieA113$59,0536
134ZavalaA110$06
135HardinA10195$29,641,60315
136BaileyA100$04
137BaylorA100$05
138ClayA102$75,6104
139CochranA100$04
140CokeA100$05
141ConchoA100$05
142LynnA100$05
143MillsA100$05
144RockwallA103$8,4295
145SterlingA100$04
146DallasA10133$4,756,79912
147HockleyA102$2,5824
148TerrellA100$04
149ArcherA104$178,5685
150HaskellA105$160,5075
151KinneyA101$04
152KnoxA100$04
153MenardA104$136,8195
154NolanA104$294,4765
155SchleicherA100$05
156SuttonA103$80,0015
157TravisA10157$5,473,81415
158Val VerdeA102$05
159ErathA101$10,2935
160FisherA100$04
161HallA100$04
162SomervellA102$18,2625
163ReevesA100$04
164PotterA103$747,6325
165CollingsworthA101$04
166CottleA100$04
167DawsonA100$04
168FloydA100$04
169FoardA100$04
170GarzaA100$04
171HudspethA100$04
172LambA100$04
173MaverickA106$207,0124
174MotleyA100$04
175ShackelfordA100$04
176TerryA101$04
177YoungA100$05
178BrazosA944$912,88310
179WebbA99$31,76312
180BellA914$143,0227
181EllisA914$551,5186
182TarrantA997$2,094,72111
183AndrewsA90$03
184ArmstrongA90$03
185BordenA90$03
186BrewsterA90$03
187BriscoeA90$03
188CarsonA90$03
189CastroA90$03
190ChildressA90$03
191CraneA90$03
192CrockettA90$03
193CrosbyA90$03
194CulbersonA91$63,1123
195DallamA90$03
196Deaf SmithA90$03
197DickensA90$03
198DonleyA90$03
199EctorA97$157,6133
200GainesA91$3,4713
201GlasscockA90$03
202GrayA90$03
203HaleA91$03
204HansfordA90$03
205HardemanA90$03
206HartleyA90$03
207HemphillA90$03
208HowardA90$03
209HutchinsonA90$03
210IrionA90$03
211JackA90$03
212Jeff DavisA90$03
213KentA90$03
214KingA90$03
215LipscombA90$03
216LovingA90$03
217MartinA90$03
218MidlandA94$51,7173
219MitchellA90$03
220MooreA90$03
221OchiltreeA90$03
222OldhamA90$03
223ParmerA90$03
224PecosA90$03
225PresidioA90$03
226ReaganA90$03
227RobertsA90$03
228RunnelsA91$101,3293
229ScurryA90$03
230ShermanA90$03
231StonewallA90$03
232SwisherA91$9,0643
233UptonA90$03
234WardA90$03
235WheelerA90$03
236WilbargerA90$03
237WinklerA90$03
238YoakumA90$03
239GreggA812$612,52810
240GuadalupeA815$551,64411
241LamarA814$420,7028
242KendallA814$96,7488
243WilliamsonA832$1,023,1947
244DentonA723$1,460,8197
245HendersonA711$326,6158
246MontagueA75$339,2625
247HuntA75$151,3384
248McLennanA721$402,6097
249JohnsonA714$306,4054
250HaysA6137$9,930,1659
251ComalA636$1,520,14711
252LubbockA614$122,9526
253TaylorA614$122,1785
254WichitaA515$212,2304
255GraysonA431$1,574,1835

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average flood risk score in Texas?

Texas's average composite flood risk score is 12 on a 0–100 scale, computed as the mean of all 255 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 Texas have the highest flood risk?

The riskiest county in Texas is Harris with a composite score of 74 (grade D). The next four — Cameron, Chambers, Polk, Waller — round out the top-five most exposed places in the state.

How many NFIP flood-insurance claims has Texas filed?

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program shows 24K claims on file from Texas, with combined payouts of $1,872,344,357 across the dataset. 148 of the state's 255 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 Texas 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 Texas: 255 counties, 24K NFIP claims, average composite score 12.

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.