Drought Risk in Kentucky

All Kentucky counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index drought score

Drought risk — extended dry periods that stress water supplies and agriculture — is rated for 108 of 120 Kentucky counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Ballard County carries the state's highest drought score at 96.4, with $3M in expected annual drought losses.

1 Kentucky county is rated High or Very High for drought, and expected annual losses from drought total roughly $16M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Drought

#CountyDrought ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Ballard County
96.4
High 7.11 / yr $3M
2 Graves County
89.0
Medium 8.33 / yr $1M
3 Fulton County
84.0
Medium 10.53 / yr $766K
4 Hickman County
83.8
Medium 10.53 / yr $845K
5 Union County
83.0
Medium 5.45 / yr $871K
6 Christian County
79.0
Medium 5.71 / yr $881K
7 Trigg County
76.7
Medium 6.32 / yr $515K
8 Caldwell County
71.8
Medium 6.40 / yr $450K
9 Henderson County
71.2
Medium 6.30 / yr $510K
10 Daviess County
71.1
Medium 6.03 / yr $542K
11 Carlisle County
70.9
Medium 8.65 / yr $480K
12 McLean County
70.4
Medium 5.79 / yr $392K
13 McCracken County
70.3
Medium 6.55 / yr $507K
14 Hopkins County
70.3
Medium 6.00 / yr $431K
15 Webster County
69.8
Medium 5.72 / yr $493K
16 Lyon County
69.6
Medium 6.62 / yr $375K
17 Muhlenberg County
69.1
Medium 3.97 / yr $407K
18 Livingston County
68.8
Medium 6.73 / yr $409K
19 Crittenden County
67.6
Medium 5.61 / yr $335K
20 Calloway County
66.0
Medium 8.07 / yr $343K
21 Marshall County
65.9
Medium 7.10 / yr $404K
22 Todd County
65.6
Medium 4.93 / yr $424K
23 Logan County
58.3
Low 3.38 / yr $240K
24 Barren County
48.9
Low 3.42 / yr $99K
25 Ohio County
46.7
Low 3.34 / yr $91K
26 Simpson County
45.1
Low 3.54 / yr $91K
27 Warren County
43.6
Low 2.43 / yr $99K
28 Allen County
43.6
Low 3.77 / yr $76K
29 Monroe County
40.4
Low 3.88 / yr $44K
30 Metcalfe County
39.9
Low 3.85 / yr $39K
31 Pulaski County
38.9
Low 7.07 / yr $47K
32 Green County
38.9
Low 2.77 / yr $44K
33 Adair County
38.1
Low 4.83 / yr $41K
34 Breckinridge County
37.7
Low 1.98 / yr $52K
35 Casey County
34.4
Low 5.68 / yr $26K
36 Hart County
33.9
Low 2.32 / yr $28K
37 Russell County
33.0
Low 5.74 / yr $24K
38 Garrard County
32.1
Low 2.87 / yr $22K
39 Nelson County
32.0
Low 1.57 / yr $34K
40 Taylor County
32.0
Low 2.82 / yr $26K
41 Shelby County
31.7
Low 2.29 / yr $29K
42 Butler County
31.3
Low 2.02 / yr $26K
43 Hancock County
31.2
Low 4.69 / yr $24K
44 Meade County
31.1
Low 2.22 / yr $29K
45 Lincoln County
30.8
Very Low 5.46 / yr $22K
46 Wayne County
30.7
Very Low 7.59 / yr $18K
47 Hardin County
30.1
Very Low 1.37 / yr $27K
48 Bourbon County
30.0
Very Low 2.72 / yr $23K
49 Marion County
29.8
Very Low 1.85 / yr $23K
50 Clay County
29.7
Very Low 7.06 / yr $14K
51 Larue County
29.6
Very Low 1.66 / yr $28K
52 Fleming County
29.5
Very Low 2.77 / yr $16K
53 Grayson County
29.0
Very Low 1.55 / yr $17K
54 Laurel County
28.3
Very Low 7.74 / yr $15K
55 Mercer County
28.0
Very Low 2.32 / yr $18K
56 Cumberland County
26.8
Very Low 4.43 / yr $10K
57 Mason County
26.2
Very Low 2.63 / yr $12K
58 Edmonson County
26.1
Very Low 2.36 / yr $16K
59 Trimble County
25.5
Very Low 3.05 / yr $10K
60 Nicholas County
25.3
Very Low 2.77 / yr $8K
61 Harrison County
24.4
Very Low 2.42 / yr $10K
62 Lewis County
23.5
Very Low 2.77 / yr $7K
63 Clinton County
23.4
Very Low 5.79 / yr $6K
64 Whitley County
23.3
Very Low 10.04 / yr $7K
65 Washington County
23.2
Very Low 1.91 / yr $9K
66 Oldham County
22.9
Very Low 3.05 / yr $12K
67 Rockcastle County
22.8
Very Low 6.50 / yr $5K
68 Clark County
22.5
Very Low 2.77 / yr $8K
69 Henry County
22.5
Very Low 2.89 / yr $7K
70 Scott County
22.1
Very Low 2.45 / yr $7K
71 Fayette County
22.0
Very Low 2.57 / yr $6K
72 Bath County
21.9
Very Low 2.77 / yr $6K
73 Owen County
21.5
Very Low 2.82 / yr $6K
74 Woodford County
21.4
Very Low 2.45 / yr $6K
75 Jefferson County
21.2
Very Low 2.26 / yr $5K
76 Montgomery County
21.2
Very Low 2.77 / yr $5K
77 Madison County
20.7
Very Low 2.77 / yr $5K
78 Spencer County
20.7
Very Low 1.66 / yr $8K
79 Knox County
20.2
Very Low 9.09 / yr $2K
80 Gallatin County
19.8
Very Low 3.33 / yr $3K
81 Boyle County
19.7
Very Low 2.17 / yr $4K
82 Pike County
19.6
Very Low 4.51 / yr $3K
83 Magoffin County
19.4
Very Low 4.59 / yr $2K
84 Elliott County
19.4
Very Low 2.77 / yr $2K
85 Owsley County
19.3
Very Low 7.27 / yr $2K
86 Franklin County
19.2
Very Low 2.50 / yr $4K
87 Boone County
18.7
Very Low 2.32 / yr $4K
88 Powell County
18.4
Very Low 2.77 / yr $2K
89 Pendleton County
18.3
Very Low 2.22 / yr $2K
90 Carroll County
18.3
Very Low 3.16 / yr $2K
91 Bracken County
18.1
Very Low 2.22 / yr $3K
92 Anderson County
17.7
Very Low 2.62 / yr $3K
93 Grant County
17.6
Very Low 2.22 / yr $2K
94 Bell County
17.4
Very Low 11.41 / yr $1K
95 Jessamine County
17.3
Very Low 2.49 / yr $3K
96 Bullitt County
17.2
Very Low 1.50 / yr $3K
97 Rowan County
17.2
Very Low 2.77 / yr $2K
98 Estill County
17.2
Very Low 2.77 / yr $1K
99 McCreary County
16.9
Very Low 9.50 / yr $935
100 Campbell County
16.1
Very Low 2.22 / yr $1K
101 Kenton County
15.9
Very Low 2.22 / yr $1K
102 Carter County
15.9
Very Low 2.67 / yr $775
103 Robertson County
15.8
Very Low 2.49 / yr $612
104 Lawrence County
15.6
Very Low 3.12 / yr $617
105 Menifee County
15.5
Very Low 2.77 / yr $799
106 Greenup County
15.0
Very Low 1.99 / yr $564
107 Lee County
14.8
Very Low 4.31 / yr $383
108 Boyd County
14.3
Very Low 1.66 / yr $332

108 Kentucky counties with measurable drought risk. See the national drought ranking or all Kentucky counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Kentucky county has the highest drought risk?

Ballard County has the highest FEMA drought risk score in Kentucky at 96.4 (High), with $3M in expected annual losses and about 7.11 events per year.

How many Kentucky counties face significant drought risk?

108 Kentucky counties record measurable drought risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 1 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Kentucky

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