Drought Risk in Missouri

All Missouri counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index drought score

Drought risk — extended dry periods that stress water supplies and agriculture — is rated for 112 of 115 Missouri counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Vernon County carries the state's highest drought score at 94.7, with $2M in expected annual drought losses.

6 Missouri counties are rated High or Very High for drought, and expected annual losses from drought total roughly $47M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Drought

#CountyDrought ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Vernon County
94.7
High 12.98 / yr $2M
2 Dunklin County
94.2
High 12.96 / yr $2M
3 Pemiscot County
94.0
High 14.40 / yr $1M
4 Barton County
92.8
High 16.14 / yr $2M
5 Jasper County
92.6
High 12.46 / yr $2M
6 Harrison County
90.6
High 17.41 / yr $1M
7 Atchison County
90.3
Medium 11.39 / yr $2M
8 Gentry County
88.6
Medium 22.97 / yr $1M
9 Holt County
86.5
Medium 16.27 / yr $1M
10 Grundy County
85.0
Medium 16.02 / yr $1M
11 Daviess County
84.8
Medium 17.84 / yr $923K
12 Nodaway County
84.5
Medium 18.63 / yr $1M
13 Saline County
82.5
Medium 15.46 / yr $994K
14 Mississippi County
82.0
Medium 10.89 / yr $846K
15 Carroll County
81.6
Medium 13.22 / yr $919K
16 St. Clair County
80.8
Medium 12.82 / yr $699K
17 New Madrid County
79.7
Medium 11.74 / yr $855K
18 Henry County
78.7
Medium 12.12 / yr $677K
19 Newton County
78.1
Medium 11.88 / yr $781K
20 Mercer County
77.4
Medium 12.42 / yr $587K
21 Livingston County
76.9
Medium 16.58 / yr $908K
22 Audrain County
76.3
Medium 7.28 / yr $584K
23 Benton County
76.2
Medium 9.57 / yr $483K
24 Pettis County
75.8
Medium 12.55 / yr $733K
25 Dade County
75.3
Medium 11.55 / yr $583K
26 Lawrence County
74.9
Medium 10.89 / yr $602K
27 Scott County
74.3
Medium 5.33 / yr $592K
28 Chariton County
73.0
Medium 12.85 / yr $549K
29 Buchanan County
72.3
Medium 18.69 / yr $633K
30 Linn County
72.1
Medium 11.77 / yr $488K
31 Barry County
71.9
Medium 9.09 / yr $515K
32 Andrew County
71.8
Medium 21.22 / yr $857K
33 Putnam County
71.0
Medium 17.53 / yr $452K
34 Sullivan County
70.7
Medium 14.50 / yr $488K
35 Worth County
69.4
Medium 18.29 / yr $498K
36 Stoddard County
69.2
Medium 5.66 / yr $437K
37 McDonald County
69.2
Medium 10.54 / yr $532K
38 DeKalb County
68.8
Medium 21.66 / yr $602K
39 Scotland County
68.4
Medium 14.27 / yr $281K
40 Clinton County
68.0
Medium 17.63 / yr $547K
41 Lafayette County
68.0
Medium 9.42 / yr $536K
42 Caldwell County
67.2
Medium 14.99 / yr $368K
43 Polk County
65.6
Medium 6.93 / yr $349K
44 Ray County
65.3
Medium 14.14 / yr $380K
45 Cooper County
64.5
Medium 15.36 / yr $589K
46 Morgan County
64.3
Medium 10.31 / yr $235K
47 Clark County
62.6
Low 7.75 / yr $287K
48 Johnson County
62.2
Low 11.08 / yr $429K
49 Lewis County
62.2
Low 6.73 / yr $287K
50 Knox County
61.8
Low 8.30 / yr $247K
51 Marion County
61.6
Low 6.37 / yr $345K
52 Cape Girardeau County
61.0
Low 3.88 / yr $355K
53 Shelby County
60.9
Low 7.28 / yr $319K
54 Dallas County
60.4
Low 4.28 / yr $232K
55 Macon County
60.3
Low 7.97 / yr $259K
56 Bates County
60.1
Low 7.76 / yr $249K
57 Monroe County
60.1
Low 5.08 / yr $257K
58 Cedar County
59.5
Low 13.46 / yr $232K
59 Moniteau County
58.9
Low 11.81 / yr $255K
60 Montgomery County
58.0
Low 6.91 / yr $201K
61 Callaway County
57.4
Low 6.96 / yr $227K
62 Platte County
57.1
Low 15.01 / yr $370K
63 Howard County
55.8
Low 13.76 / yr $257K
64 Pike County
55.6
Low 6.14 / yr $221K
65 Schuyler County
55.3
Low 14.56 / yr $163K
66 Butler County
53.8
Low 6.50 / yr $176K
67 Ralls County
52.9
Low 6.70 / yr $256K
68 Hickory County
52.7
Low 8.48 / yr $118K
69 Cass County
49.9
Low 5.19 / yr $186K
70 Stone County
49.8
Low 4.39 / yr $117K
71 Boone County
49.7
Low 9.19 / yr $182K
72 Adair County
48.7
Low 11.48 / yr $161K
73 Jackson County
46.1
Low 7.28 / yr $117K
74 Taney County
45.8
Low 5.23 / yr $85K
75 Randolph County
44.7
Low 6.06 / yr $108K
76 Greene County
44.4
Low 4.18 / yr $112K
77 Clay County
43.5
Low 12.68 / yr $125K
78 Lincoln County
43.3
Low 3.34 / yr $108K
79 Laclede County
41.3
Low 3.74 / yr $69K
80 Bollinger County
39.6
Low 4.85 / yr $69K
81 Cole County
39.3
Low 6.64 / yr $81K
82 Webster County
39.3
Low 3.25 / yr $74K
83 Osage County
39.0
Low 5.43 / yr $65K
84 Christian County
38.2
Low 3.44 / yr $79K
85 Maries County
37.8
Low 5.14 / yr $55K
86 Miller County
37.2
Low 5.15 / yr $50K
87 Texas County
36.9
Low 1.94 / yr $36K
88 Perry County
36.7
Low 3.44 / yr $62K
89 Wright County
36.3
Low 3.02 / yr $32K
90 Ripley County
35.7
Low 7.57 / yr $33K
91 Gasconade County
35.5
Low 4.31 / yr $50K
92 Howell County
32.7
Low 4.39 / yr $26K
93 St. Charles County
32.3
Low 1.92 / yr $56K
94 Wayne County
32.2
Low 5.03 / yr $19K
95 Camden County
31.6
Low 4.85 / yr $25K
96 Warren County
30.9
Low 2.42 / yr $42K
97 Ozark County
30.2
Very Low 7.55 / yr $15K
98 Franklin County
30.1
Very Low 2.46 / yr $30K
99 Phelps County
29.7
Very Low 3.41 / yr $26K
100 Dent County
29.1
Very Low 2.54 / yr $21K
101 Ste. Genevieve County
28.9
Very Low 2.21 / yr $27K
102 St. Louis County
27.8
Very Low 1.86 / yr $20K
103 Pulaski County
26.7
Very Low 3.40 / yr $22K
104 Douglas County
26.4
Very Low 2.32 / yr $12K
105 Crawford County
25.9
Very Low 3.96 / yr $14K
106 St. Francois County
25.0
Very Low 2.05 / yr $11K
107 Jefferson County
22.3
Very Low 2.05 / yr $9K
108 Washington County
21.0
Very Low 2.54 / yr $4K
109 Carter County
16.8
Very Low 4.06 / yr $960
110 Madison County
16.4
Very Low 3.55 / yr $1K
111 Iron County
15.7
Very Low 2.16 / yr $704
112 Reynolds County
15.0
Very Low 2.37 / yr $500

112 Missouri counties with measurable drought risk. See the national drought ranking or all Missouri counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Missouri county has the highest drought risk?

Vernon County has the highest FEMA drought risk score in Missouri at 94.7 (High), with $2M in expected annual losses and about 12.98 events per year.

How many Missouri counties face significant drought risk?

112 Missouri counties record measurable drought risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 6 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Missouri

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