Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in America
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Top 100
| # | County | State | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inyo County | CA | 1.9" | Relatively Low | $338,400 |
| 2 | Imperial County | CA | 2.4" | Relatively High | $279,500 |
| 3 | Riverside County | CA | 3.0" | Very High | $510,300 |
| 4 | San Bernardino County | CA | 3.8" | Very High | $475,000 |
| 5 | Yuma County | AZ | 3.8" | Relatively Moderate | $195,700 |
| 6 | Clark County | NV | 4.0" | Very High | $400,800 |
| 7 | Mineral County | NV | 4.2" | Very Low | $175,000 |
| 8 | Esmeralda County | NV | 4.3" | Very Low | $102,500 |
| 9 | La Paz County | AZ | 4.6" | Relatively Moderate | $117,600 |
| 10 | Lyon County | NV | 4.6" | Relatively Low | $342,600 |
| 11 | Nye County | NV | 4.8" | Relatively Low | $266,000 |
| 12 | Churchill County | NV | 4.9" | Relatively Low | $298,000 |
| 13 | Big Horn County | WY | 5.5" | Very Low | $198,200 |
| 14 | North Slope Borough | AK | 5.7" | Very Low | $219,600 |
| 15 | Kern County | CA | 6.4" | Relatively High | $310,600 |
| 16 | Tooele County | UT | 6.4" | Relatively Low | $391,300 |
| 17 | Navajo County | AZ | 6.5" | Relatively Moderate | $186,100 |
| 18 | Grand County | UT | 6.7" | Very Low | $480,900 |
| 19 | Custer County | ID | 6.9" | Relatively Low | $295,600 |
| 20 | Lemhi County | ID | 6.9" | Very Low | $282,100 |
| 21 | Uintah County | UT | 7.0" | Very Low | $270,200 |
| 22 | Storey County | NV | 7.3" | Very Low | $393,100 |
| 23 | Alamosa County | CO | 7.4" | Very Low | $218,800 |
| 24 | Conejos County | CO | 7.4" | Very Low | $162,100 |
| 25 | Kings County | CA | 7.5" | Relatively Moderate | $305,700 |
| 26 | Sweetwater County | WY | 7.5" | Very Low | $242,900 |
| 27 | Douglas County | WA | 7.6" | Relatively Low | $402,900 |
| 28 | Grant County | WA | 7.6" | Relatively Low | $275,700 |
| 29 | Benton County | WA | 7.6" | Relatively Moderate | $369,400 |
| 30 | Lincoln County | WY | 7.7" | Relatively Low | $334,500 |
| 31 | Washoe County | NV | 7.7" | Relatively High | $496,600 |
| 32 | Washakie County | WY | 7.7" | Very Low | $188,600 |
| 33 | San Juan County | NM | 7.8" | Relatively Moderate | $185,100 |
| 34 | Sevier County | UT | 7.8" | Very Low | $274,100 |
| 35 | Graham County | AZ | 8.0" | Relatively Low | $202,700 |
| 36 | Mohave County | AZ | 8.0" | Relatively High | $253,200 |
| 37 | Juab County | UT | 8.0" | Very Low | $369,800 |
| 38 | Yakima County | WA | 8.0" | Relatively Moderate | $281,100 |
| 39 | Apache County | AZ | 8.2" | Relatively Low | $68,500 |
| 40 | Maricopa County | AZ | 8.2" | Very High | $414,700 |
| 41 | Piute County | UT | 8.2" | Very Low | $235,400 |
| 42 | Montrose County | CO | 8.3" | Relatively Low | $357,900 |
| 43 | Pershing County | NV | 8.3" | Very Low | $166,200 |
| 44 | Wayne County | UT | 8.4" | Very Low | $364,800 |
| 45 | Saguache County | CO | 8.4" | Very Low | $200,000 |
| 46 | Carbon County | UT | 8.4" | Very Low | $200,700 |
| 47 | Emery County | UT | 8.4" | Very Low | $197,100 |
| 48 | Fremont County | WY | 8.6" | Relatively Low | $252,700 |
| 49 | Pinal County | AZ | 8.6" | Relatively Moderate | $312,100 |
| 50 | Beaver County | UT | 8.7" | Very Low | $287,600 |
| 51 | Millard County | UT | 8.7" | Very Low | $246,400 |
| 52 | El Paso County | TX | 8.8" | Relatively High | $167,300 |
| 53 | Butte County | ID | 8.8" | Very Low | $195,800 |
| 54 | Franklin County | WA | 8.8" | Relatively Low | $345,700 |
| 55 | Bernalillo County | NM | 8.8" | Relatively High | $268,500 |
| 56 | Lincoln County | NV | 8.8" | Very Low | $208,900 |
| 57 | Mesa County | CO | 8.9" | Relatively Low | $349,400 |
| 58 | Lander County | NV | 8.9" | Very Low | $210,500 |
| 59 | Costilla County | CO | 9.0" | Very Low | $171,300 |
| 60 | Carbon County | WY | 9.0" | Very Low | $214,500 |
| 61 | Baker County | OR | 9.1" | Relatively Low | $247,700 |
| 62 | Doña Ana County | NM | 9.1" | Relatively High | $205,400 |
| 63 | Kittitas County | WA | 9.2" | Relatively Moderate | $459,900 |
| 64 | Rio Grande County | CO | 9.2" | Relatively Low | $215,400 |
| 65 | Valencia County | NM | 9.2" | Relatively Moderate | $206,800 |
| 66 | Douglas County | NV | 9.3" | Relatively Moderate | $587,400 |
| 67 | Carson City | NV | 9.3" | Relatively Low | $426,700 |
| 68 | Luna County | NM | 9.3" | Relatively Low | $112,500 |
| 69 | White Pine County | NV | 9.4" | Very Low | $196,700 |
| 70 | Duchesne County | UT | 9.4" | Very Low | $253,600 |
| 71 | Payette County | ID | 9.5" | Very Low | $310,700 |
| 72 | Terrell County | TX | 9.8" | Very Low | $152,200 |
| 73 | Wheeler County | OR | 9.8" | Very Low | $259,000 |
| 74 | Culberson County | TX | 9.8" | Very Low | $84,500 |
| 75 | Hudspeth County | TX | 9.8" | Very Low | $57,400 |
| 76 | Gooding County | ID | 9.8" | Very Low | $231,800 |
| 77 | Sierra County | NM | 9.9" | Relatively Low | $144,800 |
| 78 | Jerome County | ID | 9.9" | Very Low | $254,000 |
| 79 | Chaffee County | CO | 9.9" | Relatively Low | $598,500 |
| 80 | Canyon County | ID | 10.0" | Relatively Low | $350,300 |
| 81 | Socorro County | NM | 10.1" | Relatively Low | $143,200 |
| 82 | Kane County | UT | 10.1" | Very Low | $350,900 |
| 83 | Jefferson County | ID | 10.1" | Very Low | $335,000 |
| 84 | Reeves County | TX | 10.1" | Very Low | $113,700 |
| 85 | Beaverhead County | MT | 10.1" | Relatively Low | $282,000 |
| 86 | Adams County | WA | 10.1" | Very Low | $251,300 |
| 87 | Humboldt County | NV | 10.2" | Very Low | $256,800 |
| 88 | Twin Falls County | ID | 10.3" | Relatively Low | $292,700 |
| 89 | Cassia County | ID | 10.3" | Relatively Low | $257,300 |
| 90 | Minidoka County | ID | 10.3" | Very Low | $235,300 |
| 91 | Park County | WY | 10.3" | Relatively Low | $374,200 |
| 92 | Hidalgo County | NM | 10.3" | Very Low | $114,000 |
| 93 | Merced County | CA | 10.4" | Relatively High | $368,400 |
| 94 | Lincoln County | ID | 10.5" | Very Low | $206,700 |
| 95 | Albany County | WY | 10.5" | Relatively Low | $322,100 |
| 96 | Broadwater County | MT | 10.6" | Very Low | $364,800 |
| 97 | Park County | CO | 10.6" | Very Low | $489,300 |
| 98 | Gunnison County | CO | 10.6" | Relatively Low | $597,200 |
| 99 | Cibola County | NM | 10.7" | Relatively Low | $120,000 |
| 100 | McKinley County | NM | 10.7" | Relatively Low | $72,100 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Driest Counties by state
The same ranking within a single state.
Alabama67Alaska26Arizona15Arkansas75California58Colorado64Florida67Georgia159Idaho44Illinois102Indiana92Iowa99Kansas105Kentucky120Louisiana64Maine16Maryland24Massachusetts14Michigan83Minnesota87Mississippi82Missouri115Montana56Nebraska93Nevada16New Jersey21New Mexico33New York62North Carolina100North Dakota53Ohio88Oklahoma77Oregon36Pennsylvania67South Carolina46South Dakota65Tennessee95Texas250Utah29Vermont14Virginia133Washington39West Virginia55Wisconsin72Wyoming23