Iowa Natural Disaster Risk by County

FEMA National Risk Index rankings for all 99 counties

Counties
99
All ranked by NRI score
State Avg. Score
39.7
Low risk
Total State EAL
$1.83B
Expected annual losses
Highest Risk
Polk
Score 92.0 · Medium

Iowa spans 99 counties with an average FEMA National Risk Index score of 39.7 (low risk) and roughly $1.83B in combined expected annual loss statewide. No county in the state reaches the High risk band.

The highest-risk county is Polk County (score 92.0, medium), while Worth County (score 9.9) carries the lowest. Use the table below to compare every county by score, top hazard, and expected annual loss.

County Rankings

#CountyRisk ScoreRisk RatingTop HazardAnn. Loss
1Polk County
92.0
Medium Strong Wind$138M
2Johnson County
87.4
Medium Strong Wind$96M
3Linn County
86.7
Medium Strong Wind$79M
4Scott County
84.9
Medium Strong Wind$66M
5Woodbury County
83.3
Medium Tornado$51M
6Pottawattamie County
80.4
Low Hail$50M
7Black Hawk County
76.6
Low Drought$42M
8Cerro Gordo County
69.6
Low Drought$27M
9Story County
68.8
Low Drought$36M
10Wapello County
65.3
Low Drought$24M
11Clinton County
64.8
Low Strong Wind$25M
12Dubuque County
63.6
Low Hail$42M
13Lee County
62.9
Low Hail$23M
14Marshall County
62.5
Low Drought$23M
15Crawford County
60.8
Low Drought$24M
16Dallas County
60.6
Low Drought$40M
17Cass County
60.1
Low Drought$17M
18Webster County
60.0
Low Drought$25M
19Hardin County
58.4
Low Hail$20M
20Muscatine County
57.8
Low Hail$20M
21Carroll County
57.6
Low Hail$23M
22Des Moines County
55.8
Low Hail$19M
23Sioux County
52.4
Low Hail$30M
24Fayette County
50.9
Low Drought$15M
25Davis County
50.3
Low Drought$11M
26Delaware County
49.7
Low Hail$17M
27Adair County
49.5
Low Drought$14M
28Union County
49.5
Low Drought$13M
29Plymouth County
49.2
Low Hail$18M
30Floyd County
47.7
Low Drought$15M
31Tama County
45.3
Low Drought$13M
32Calhoun County
44.6
Low Drought$13M
33Washington County
44.2
Low Strong Wind$14M
34Jasper County
43.7
Low Drought$16M
35Hamilton County
42.9
Low Drought$16M
36Emmet County
42.7
Very Low Drought$14M
37Clayton County
42.2
Very Low Landslide$15M
38Wright County
41.5
Very Low Drought$13M
39Appanoose County
41.2
Very Low Drought$10M
40Page County
40.2
Very Low Heat Wave$12M
41Buena Vista County
39.3
Very Low Hail$12M
42Audubon County
38.6
Very Low Drought$11M
43Taylor County
38.5
Very Low Drought$10M
44Allamakee County
38.2
Very Low Landslide$10M
45Mitchell County
37.7
Very Low Strong Wind$14M
46Clay County
36.4
Very Low Hail$17M
47Dickinson County
36.3
Very Low Winter Weather$14M
48Winneshiek County
36.2
Very Low Hail$15M
49Jackson County
36.1
Very Low Landslide$14M
50Warren County
36.1
Very Low Drought$19M
51Madison County
35.5
Very Low Drought$10M
52Marion County
34.4
Very Low Drought$14M
53Cherokee County
34.1
Very Low Hail$11M
54Montgomery County
33.7
Very Low Drought$11M
55Van Buren County
33.6
Very Low Drought$8M
56Pocahontas County
33.0
Very Low Drought$11M
57Jones County
32.7
Very Low Drought$16M
58Kossuth County
32.3
Very Low Drought$16M
59Greene County
31.8
Very Low Drought$12M
60Chickasaw County
31.7
Very Low Drought$11M
61Harrison County
31.3
Very Low Drought$10M
62Poweshiek County
31.3
Very Low Drought$12M
63Henry County
30.9
Very Low Heat Wave$10M
64Winnebago County
30.7
Very Low Drought$10M
65Lucas County
29.7
Very Low Drought$8M
66Mahaska County
29.7
Very Low Drought$11M
67Benton County
28.8
Very Low Drought$16M
68Hancock County
28.8
Very Low Drought$11M
69Boone County
28.4
Very Low Drought$17M
70Iowa County
28.2
Very Low Strong Wind$11M
71Sac County
27.3
Very Low Drought$15M
72Butler County
27.1
Very Low Drought$15M
73Jefferson County
27.1
Very Low Drought$8M
74Guthrie County
26.5
Very Low Drought$14M
75Monona County
25.1
Very Low Drought$9M
76Bremer County
24.6
Very Low Drought$15M
77Humboldt County
24.1
Very Low Drought$10M
78Buchanan County
24.0
Very Low Drought$13M
79Decatur County
23.6
Very Low Drought$8M
80Shelby County
22.8
Very Low Drought$13M
81Wayne County
22.0
Very Low Drought$6M
82Franklin County
21.9
Very Low Drought$11M
83Keokuk County
21.9
Very Low Drought$9M
84Cedar County
21.5
Very Low Drought$12M
85Adams County
20.4
Very Low Drought$8M
86Lyon County
19.2
Very Low Hail$11M
87Mills County
18.5
Very Low Landslide$11M
88Clarke County
18.4
Very Low Drought$10M
89Ida County
18.4
Very Low Hail$7M
90Louisa County
17.5
Very Low Drought$8M
91O'Brien County
16.4
Very Low Hail$11M
92Howard County
15.6
Very Low Drought$9M
93Palo Alto County
15.5
Very Low Drought$10M
94Fremont County
15.0
Very Low Drought$7M
95Osceola County
14.9
Very Low Hail$5M
96Ringgold County
14.2
Very Low Drought$8M
97Grundy County
13.1
Very Low Drought$10M
98Monroe County
10.3
Very Low Drought$7M
99Worth County
9.9
Very Low Drought$7M

All 99 Iowa counties, ranked by FEMA National Risk Index score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Iowa county has the highest natural disaster risk?

Polk County has the highest FEMA National Risk Index score in Iowa at 92.0 (Medium), driven largely by strong wind.

What is the average natural disaster risk in Iowa?

Iowa counties average a National Risk Index score of 39.7 across 99 counties, with 0 rated High or Very High risk.

How much are expected annual losses across Iowa?

FEMA estimates roughly $1.83B in combined expected annual loss from natural hazards across all Iowa counties.

Iowa Risk by Hazard

Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather