Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in California
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.
California ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inyo County | 1.9" | Relatively Low | $338,400 |
| 2 | Imperial County | 2.4" | Relatively High | $279,500 |
| 3 | Riverside County | 3.0" | Very High | $510,300 |
| 4 | San Bernardino County | 3.8" | Very High | $475,000 |
| 5 | Kern County | 6.4" | Relatively High | $310,600 |
| 6 | Kings County | 7.5" | Relatively Moderate | $305,700 |
| 7 | Merced County | 10.4" | Relatively High | $368,400 |
| 8 | Madera County | 10.8" | Relatively High | $367,700 |
| 9 | Fresno County | 11.0" | Relatively High | $362,600 |
| 10 | Modoc County | 11.7" | Very Low | $212,000 |
| 11 | Monterey County | 11.8" | Relatively High | $723,100 |
| 12 | Siskiyou County | 12.0" | Relatively Moderate | $284,500 |
| 13 | Ventura County | 12.0" | Relatively High | $768,400 |
| 14 | Tulare County | 12.1" | Relatively High | $303,000 |
| 15 | Stanislaus County | 12.3" | Relatively High | $426,600 |
| 16 | Lassen County | 13.0" | Relatively Low | $259,500 |
| 17 | San Joaquin County | 13.4" | Relatively High | $494,500 |
| 18 | Santa Clara County | 13.5" | Very High | $1,382,800 |
| 19 | Los Angeles County | 13.9" | Very High | $783,300 |
| 20 | Orange County | 14.1" | Very High | $915,500 |
| 21 | San Diego County | 14.7" | Very High | $791,600 |
| 22 | Mono County | 15.1" | Relatively Low | $514,300 |
| 23 | Alameda County | 15.2" | Very High | $1,057,400 |
| 24 | San Benito County | 16.6" | Relatively Moderate | $751,500 |
| 25 | Colusa County | 17.2" | Relatively Moderate | $375,100 |
| 26 | San Luis Obispo County | 17.9" | Relatively High | $777,200 |
| 27 | Sacramento County | 19.2" | Relatively High | $498,900 |
| 28 | Sutter County | 20.1" | Relatively Moderate | $399,400 |
| 29 | Yuba County | 20.1" | Relatively Low | $380,000 |
| 30 | Alpine County | 20.5" | Very Low | $466,100 |
| 31 | Yolo County | 20.5" | Relatively Moderate | $593,800 |
| 32 | Santa Barbara County | 21.1" | Relatively High | $735,700 |
| 33 | Glenn County | 21.4" | Relatively Low | $338,400 |
| 34 | San Francisco County | 22.9" | Very High | $1,380,500 |
| 35 | Tehama County | 23.1" | Relatively Moderate | $315,600 |
| 36 | Solano County | 24.8" | Relatively High | $589,600 |
| 37 | Butte County | 25.7" | Relatively Moderate | $408,700 |
| 38 | San Mateo County | 26.0" | Relatively High | $1,494,500 |
| 39 | Contra Costa County | 26.1" | Very High | $830,800 |
| 40 | Calaveras County | 29.8" | Relatively Moderate | $441,800 |
| 41 | Santa Cruz County | 30.6" | Relatively High | $1,015,200 |
| 42 | Amador County | 32.0" | Relatively Low | $422,800 |
| 43 | Shasta County | 33.5" | Relatively Moderate | $347,200 |
| 44 | Sonoma County | 33.8" | Relatively High | $779,000 |
| 45 | Marin County | 34.5" | Relatively High | $1,390,000 |
| 46 | Lake County | 34.8" | Relatively Moderate | $316,800 |
| 47 | Trinity County | 35.8" | Relatively Low | $329,000 |
| 48 | Napa County | 39.7" | Relatively High | $838,800 |
| 49 | Humboldt County | 40.4" | Relatively High | $418,800 |
| 50 | Mariposa County | 40.4" | Relatively Moderate | $358,000 |
| 51 | Plumas County | 41.7" | Relatively Moderate | $327,400 |
| 52 | Tuolumne County | 49.0" | Relatively Moderate | $406,200 |
| 53 | Mendocino County | 49.2" | Relatively High | $486,000 |
| 54 | El Dorado County | 54.5" | Relatively Moderate | $640,500 |
| 55 | Del Norte County | 58.0" | Relatively High | $319,600 |
| 56 | Nevada County | 62.4" | Relatively Moderate | $602,800 |
| 57 | Placer County | 62.4" | Relatively Moderate | $658,800 |
| 58 | Sierra County | 62.4" | Very Low | $334,100 |
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.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in California