Editorial
Most disaster-prone counties in Colorado
Colorado has 649 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 64 counties. The dominant hazard type is flood. Larimer County leads with 30 declarations, followed by El Paso County and Boulder County.
This ranking shows every county in Colorado ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.
Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.
Colorado ranking
All counties by FEMA declaration count
| # | County | Declarations | Top hazard | First year | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larimer County | 30 | Fire | 1965 | 2024 |
| 2 | El Paso County | 20 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 3 | Boulder County | 19 | Fire | 1969 | 2024 |
| 4 | Pueblo County | 18 | Fire | 1965 | 2020 |
| 5 | Weld County | 16 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 6 | Fremont County | 15 | Fire | 1965 | 2020 |
| 7 | Jefferson County | 15 | Fire | 1969 | 2024 |
| 8 | Douglas County | 13 | Fire | 1965 | 2023 |
| 9 | Elbert County | 13 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 10 | Las Animas County | 13 | Fire | 1965 | 2020 |
| 11 | Teller County | 13 | Fire | 1965 | 2023 |
| 12 | Washington County | 13 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 13 | Adams County | 12 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 14 | Arapahoe County | 12 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 15 | Crowley County | 12 | Coastal Storm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 16 | Custer County | 12 | Fire | 1999 | 2020 |
| 17 | Garfield County | 12 | Fire | 1977 | 2020 |
| 18 | Logan County | 12 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 19 | Morgan County | 12 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 20 | Park County | 12 | Fire | 1969 | 2020 |
| 21 | Baca County | 11 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 22 | Denver County | 11 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 23 | Kiowa County | 11 | Coastal Storm | 1965 | 2023 |
| 24 | Costilla County | 10 | Fire | 1970 | 2020 |
| 25 | Huerfano County | 10 | Fire | 1977 | 2020 |
| 26 | La Plata County | 10 | Fire | 1970 | 2020 |
| 27 | Lincoln County | 10 | Flood | 1965 | 2023 |
| 28 | Bent County | 9 | Coastal Storm | 1965 | 2020 |
| 29 | Cheyenne County | 9 | Biological | 1965 | 2023 |
| 30 | Clear Creek County | 9 | Flood | 1969 | 2020 |
| 31 | Delta County | 9 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 32 | Eagle County | 9 | Fire | 1977 | 2020 |
| 33 | Gunnison County | 9 | Biological | 1973 | 2020 |
| 34 | Montrose County | 9 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 35 | Otero County | 9 | Biological | 1965 | 2020 |
| 36 | Prowers County | 9 | Biological | 1965 | 2023 |
| 37 | Rio Grande County | 9 | Fire | 1970 | 2020 |
| 38 | Saguache County | 9 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 39 | San Miguel County | 9 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 40 | Sedgwick County | 9 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 41 | Archuleta County | 8 | Biological | 1970 | 2025 |
| 42 | Dolores County | 8 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 43 | Gilpin County | 8 | Biological | 1969 | 2020 |
| 44 | Grand County | 8 | Fire | 1977 | 2021 |
| 45 | Hinsdale County | 8 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 46 | Mesa County | 8 | Fire | 1977 | 2020 |
| 47 | Mineral County | 8 | Biological | 1970 | 2020 |
| 48 | Montezuma County | 8 | Biological | 1970 | 2020 |
| 49 | Ouray County | 8 | Flood | 1970 | 2020 |
| 50 | Alamosa County | 7 | Biological | 1970 | 2020 |
| 51 | Conejos County | 7 | Biological | 1970 | 2020 |
| 52 | Kit Carson County | 7 | Biological | 1965 | 2023 |
| 53 | Rio Blanco County | 7 | Fire | 1984 | 2025 |
| 54 | Yuma County | 7 | Biological | 1965 | 2020 |
| 55 | Broomfield County | 6 | Biological | 2003 | 2020 |
| 56 | Jackson County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 57 | Moffat County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 58 | Phillips County | 6 | Biological | 1965 | 2020 |
| 59 | Pitkin County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 60 | Routt County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 61 | San Juan County | 6 | Biological | 1970 | 2020 |
| 62 | Summit County | 6 | Biological | 1977 | 2020 |
| 63 | Chaffee County | 5 | Biological | 2002 | 2020 |
| 64 | Lake County | 5 | Biological | 2002 | 2020 |