Ohio drought risk
Pickaway County has the highest drought risk in Ohio, scoring 83.4 out of 100 — rated "Relatively Moderate" by FEMA's National Risk Index.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pickaway County | 83.4 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 2 | Highland County | 78.8 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 3 | Fairfield County | 77.4 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 4 | Fulton County | 75.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 5 | Ross County | 68.9 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 6 | Muskingum County | 67.7 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 7 | Clinton County | 67.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 8 | Licking County | 66.1 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 9 | Fayette County | 65.9 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 10 | Tuscarawas County | 65.4 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 11 | Perry County | 65 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 12 | Guernsey County | 62.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 13 | Washington County | 61.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 14 | Harrison County | 60.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 15 | Franklin County | 57.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 16 | Belmont County | 56.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 17 | Morgan County | 53.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 18 | Pike County | 53.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 19 | Clark County | 53.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 20 | Brown County | 53.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 21 | Monroe County | 52.7 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 22 | Champaign County | 50.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 23 | Meigs County | 49.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 24 | Warren County | 47.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 25 | Greene County | 46.7 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 26 | Butler County | 46 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 27 | Williams County | 45.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 28 | Carroll County | 45 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 29 | Madison County | 44.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 30 | Athens County | 44.1 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 31 | Noble County | 42.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 32 | Henry County | 40.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 33 | Vinton County | 40.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 34 | Adams County | 40 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 35 | Lucas County | 39 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 36 | Clermont County | 37.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 37 | Union County | 35.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 38 | Stark County | 34.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 39 | Hocking County | 32.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 40 | Miami County | 32.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 41 | Hamilton County | 32 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 42 | Jefferson County | 31.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 43 | Gallia County | 31.6 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 44 | Preble County | 30.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 45 | Holmes County | 29.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 46 | Jackson County | 29 | Very Low | 0 |
| 47 | Coshocton County | 28.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 48 | Scioto County | 28.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 49 | Defiance County | 27.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 50 | Logan County | 27.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 51 | Montgomery County | 26.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 52 | Lawrence County | 19.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 53 | Delaware County | 14.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 54 | Wayne County | 14.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 55 | Shelby County | 12.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 56 | Allen County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 57 | Ashland County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 58 | Ashtabula County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 59 | Auglaize County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 60 | Columbiana County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 61 | Crawford County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 62 | Cuyahoga County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 63 | Darke County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 64 | Erie County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 65 | Geauga County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 66 | Hancock County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 67 | Hardin County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 68 | Huron County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 69 | Knox County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 70 | Lake County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 71 | Lorain County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 72 | Mahoning County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 73 | Marion County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 74 | Medina County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 75 | Mercer County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 76 | Morrow County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 77 | Ottawa County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 78 | Paulding County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 79 | Portage County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 80 | Putnam County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 81 | Richland County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 82 | Sandusky County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 83 | Seneca County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 84 | Summit County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 85 | Trumbull County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 86 | Van Wert County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 87 | Wood County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 88 | Wyandot County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.
Drought risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in Ohio:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest drought risk county in Ohio?
Pickaway County, OH has the highest drought risk in Ohio, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 83.4 out of 100 (rated "Relatively Moderate").
What causes drought risk in Ohio?
Drought risk captures expected annual losses from prolonged precipitation deficits affecting agriculture, water supply, and ecosystems. High scores cover the western Great Plains, Southwest, and California's Central Valley. Climate change is increasing drought frequency and severity across much of the US, with multi-year droughts becoming more common in the West.