Drought Risk in North Carolina

All North Carolina counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index drought score

Drought risk — extended dry periods that stress water supplies and agriculture — is rated for 97 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Halifax County carries the state's highest drought score at 89.5, with $1M in expected annual drought losses.

No North Carolina county reaches the High band for drought, and expected annual losses from drought total roughly $29M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Drought

#CountyDrought ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Halifax County
89.5
Medium 11.79 / yr $1M
2 Edgecombe County
88.4
Medium 9.32 / yr $1M
3 Wilson County
88.3
Medium 9.28 / yr $1M
4 Northampton County
88.3
Medium 7.24 / yr $881K
5 Sampson County
88.2
Medium 9.64 / yr $945K
6 Nash County
88.1
Medium 11.45 / yr $1M
7 Johnston County
84.4
Medium 10.96 / yr $1M
8 Alleghany County
83.1
Medium 15.42 / yr $669K
9 Hertford County
82.8
Medium 3.41 / yr $692K
10 Warren County
82.5
Medium 15.58 / yr $668K
11 Henderson County
80.5
Medium 32.92 / yr $752K
12 Martin County
80.0
Medium 6.11 / yr $786K
13 Bertie County
79.5
Medium 5.25 / yr $607K
14 Franklin County
78.4
Medium 13.27 / yr $833K
15 Greene County
76.9
Medium 7.77 / yr $484K
16 Watauga County
76.2
Medium 24.21 / yr $630K
17 Pitt County
75.8
Medium 6.52 / yr $709K
18 Granville County
74.8
Medium 18.12 / yr $666K
19 Stokes County
74.8
Medium 16.52 / yr $613K
20 Wayne County
74.2
Medium 7.92 / yr $514K
21 Person County
74.0
Medium 17.36 / yr $496K
22 Rowan County
71.4
Medium 26.43 / yr $555K
23 Ashe County
71.3
Medium 19.35 / yr $391K
24 Caswell County
71.3
Medium 16.72 / yr $456K
25 Vance County
70.7
Medium 16.88 / yr $375K
26 Union County
69.4
Medium 21.84 / yr $713K
27 Yadkin County
69.3
Medium 21.37 / yr $403K
28 Lenoir County
68.6
Medium 7.63 / yr $326K
29 Guilford County
67.7
Medium 17.91 / yr $441K
30 Rockingham County
66.3
Medium 16.23 / yr $341K
31 Surry County
66.0
Medium 13.27 / yr $343K
32 Duplin County
65.4
Medium 8.35 / yr $267K
33 Buncombe County
65.2
Medium 29.13 / yr $409K
34 Robeson County
64.8
Medium 12.72 / yr $223K
35 Harnett County
64.6
Medium 13.37 / yr $417K
36 McDowell County
64.1
Medium 30.67 / yr $300K
37 Wilkes County
63.8
Low 23.88 / yr $246K
38 Randolph County
62.9
Low 17.71 / yr $307K
39 Burke County
62.0
Low 31.87 / yr $253K
40 Catawba County
61.0
Low 29.41 / yr $315K
41 Cleveland County
59.3
Low 31.16 / yr $259K
42 Davidson County
58.1
Low 22.31 / yr $242K
43 Gates County
56.6
Low 2.66 / yr $213K
44 Stanly County
56.1
Low 20.67 / yr $236K
45 Davie County
56.1
Low 26.49 / yr $222K
46 Jackson County
55.0
Low 32.63 / yr $138K
47 Orange County
54.5
Low 15.49 / yr $249K
48 Forsyth County
53.6
Low 19.60 / yr $187K
49 Lee County
53.1
Low 15.02 / yr $137K
50 Alexander County
52.8
Low 30.06 / yr $129K
51 Iredell County
52.4
Low 26.45 / yr $209K
52 Hyde County
52.0
Low 2.22 / yr $100K
53 Bladen County
51.7
Low 9.55 / yr $117K
54 Wake County
51.1
Low 13.52 / yr $248K
55 Yancey County
51.0
Low 27.93 / yr $103K
56 Caldwell County
50.9
Low 29.09 / yr $146K
57 Anson County
50.9
Low 20.23 / yr $98K
58 Craven County
50.7
Low 3.99 / yr $128K
59 Moore County
49.3
Low 16.78 / yr $135K
60 Chowan County
49.2
Low 1.06 / yr $114K
61 Alamance County
48.9
Low 15.66 / yr $151K
62 Beaufort County
48.2
Low 2.41 / yr $95K
63 Cabarrus County
48.2
Low 24.64 / yr $169K
64 Jones County
48.1
Low 7.42 / yr $75K
65 Scotland County
47.5
Low 16.59 / yr $74K
66 Columbus County
47.3
Low 9.24 / yr $81K
67 Polk County
47.0
Low 38.19 / yr $82K
68 Transylvania County
46.6
Low 33.37 / yr $87K
69 Montgomery County
45.5
Low 18.27 / yr $77K
70 Cumberland County
45.3
Low 10.68 / yr $114K
71 Perquimans County
45.1
Low 1.06 / yr $80K
72 Chatham County
45.0
Low 16.11 / yr $95K
73 Haywood County
44.8
Low 27.85 / yr $84K
74 Lincoln County
44.1
Low 29.98 / yr $95K
75 Hoke County
44.0
Low 15.42 / yr $76K
76 Durham County
42.8
Low 15.64 / yr $97K
77 Rutherford County
42.7
Low 34.13 / yr $66K
78 Richmond County
41.4
Low 18.87 / yr $55K
79 Clay County
40.1
Low 32.85 / yr $38K
80 Gaston County
38.5
Low 26.97 / yr $63K
81 Pender County
37.8
Low 8.02 / yr $56K
82 Washington County
36.9
Low 0.83 / yr $32K
83 Cherokee County
36.2
Low 30.58 / yr $36K
84 Onslow County
34.6
Low 6.48 / yr $48K
85 Macon County
32.9
Low 31.59 / yr $25K
86 Camden County
32.9
Low 0.62 / yr $50K
87 Pasquotank County
29.9
Very Low 0.29 / yr $22K
88 Swain County
29.7
Very Low 33.32 / yr $15K
89 Brunswick County
28.8
Very Low 6.41 / yr $16K
90 Mecklenburg County
28.6
Very Low 24.13 / yr $25K
91 Tyrrell County
28.3
Very Low 0.28 / yr $12K
92 Carteret County
26.5
Very Low 2.36 / yr $14K
93 New Hanover County
19.2
Very Low 5.65 / yr $4K
94 Pamlico County
18.5
Very Low 0.37 / yr $2K
95 Currituck County
17.1
Very Low 0.24 / yr $3K
96 Madison County
15.2
Very Low 28.80 / yr $667
97 Dare County
14.3
Very Low 0.28 / yr $378

97 North Carolina counties with measurable drought risk. See the national drought ranking or all North Carolina counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest drought risk?

Halifax County has the highest FEMA drought risk score in North Carolina at 89.5 (Medium), with $1M in expected annual losses and about 11.79 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant drought risk?

97 North Carolina counties record measurable drought risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 0 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in North Carolina

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