Pennsylvania drought risk
Chester County has the highest drought risk in Pennsylvania, scoring 98.6 out of 100 — rated "Relatively High" by FEMA's National Risk Index.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chester County | 98.6 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 2 | Berks County | 91.5 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 3 | Lancaster County | 89 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 4 | Adams County | 87.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 5 | York County | 86.8 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 6 | Franklin County | 79.2 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 7 | Bucks County | 77 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 8 | Lebanon County | 69.6 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 9 | Lehigh County | 64.5 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 10 | Montgomery County | 61.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 11 | Cumberland County | 58.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 12 | Northampton County | 55.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 13 | Delaware County | 54.2 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 14 | Somerset County | 50.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 15 | Dauphin County | 49.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 16 | Washington County | 45.4 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 17 | Fayette County | 44 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 18 | Greene County | 39.1 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 19 | Bedford County | 29.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 20 | Fulton County | 25.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 21 | Westmoreland County | 25.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 22 | Philadelphia County | 21.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 23 | Pike County | 15.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 24 | Perry County | 14.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 25 | Allegheny County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 26 | Armstrong County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 27 | Beaver County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 28 | Blair County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 29 | Bradford County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 30 | Butler County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 31 | Cambria County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 32 | Cameron County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 33 | Carbon County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 34 | Centre County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 35 | Clarion County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 36 | Clearfield County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 37 | Clinton County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 38 | Columbia County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 39 | Crawford County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 40 | Elk County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 41 | Erie County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 42 | Forest County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 43 | Huntingdon County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 44 | Indiana County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 45 | Jefferson County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 46 | Juniata County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 47 | Lackawanna County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 48 | Lawrence County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 49 | Luzerne County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 50 | Lycoming County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 51 | McKean County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 52 | Mercer County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 53 | Mifflin County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 54 | Monroe County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 55 | Montour County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 56 | Northumberland County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 57 | Potter County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 58 | Schuylkill County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 59 | Snyder County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 60 | Sullivan County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 61 | Susquehanna County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 62 | Tioga County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 63 | Union County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 64 | Venango County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 65 | Warren County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 66 | Wayne County | 0 | No Rating | 0 |
| 67 | Wyoming 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 Pennsylvania:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest drought risk county in Pennsylvania?
Chester County, PA has the highest drought risk in Pennsylvania, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 98.6 out of 100 (rated "Relatively High").
What causes drought risk in Pennsylvania?
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.