Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in New York
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.
New York ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Livingston County | 29.0" | Relatively Low | $169,600 |
| 2 | Schuyler County | 30.2" | Very Low | $163,300 |
| 3 | Seneca County | 30.2" | Very Low | $142,700 |
| 4 | Yates County | 30.2" | Relatively Low | $178,000 |
| 5 | Chemung County | 32.4" | Relatively Low | $132,100 |
| 6 | Steuben County | 32.4" | Relatively Low | $128,600 |
| 7 | Niagara County | 33.0" | Relatively Moderate | $177,400 |
| 8 | Monroe County | 35.1" | Relatively Moderate | $197,100 |
| 9 | Ontario County | 35.2" | Relatively Low | $202,900 |
| 10 | Orleans County | 35.2" | Very Low | $126,200 |
| 11 | Genesee County | 36.6" | Relatively Low | $157,800 |
| 12 | Essex County | 36.6" | Relatively Low | $200,000 |
| 13 | Franklin County | 36.6" | Relatively Low | $128,600 |
| 14 | Jefferson County | 37.1" | Relatively Low | $181,000 |
| 15 | St. Lawrence County | 38.2" | Relatively Low | $119,800 |
| 16 | Warren County | 38.2" | Relatively Low | $247,600 |
| 17 | Washington County | 38.2" | Relatively Low | $185,000 |
| 18 | Tompkins County | 38.3" | Relatively Low | $271,500 |
| 19 | Oswego County | 39.6" | Relatively Low | $139,600 |
| 20 | Onondaga County | 39.9" | Relatively Moderate | $185,300 |
| 21 | Wayne County | 39.9" | Relatively Low | $163,400 |
| 22 | Allegany County | 40.2" | Relatively Low | $97,900 |
| 23 | Albany County | 40.7" | Relatively Moderate | $277,400 |
| 24 | Erie County | 40.7" | Relatively High | $217,400 |
| 25 | Schenectady County | 40.7" | Relatively Low | $223,100 |
| 26 | Schoharie County | 40.7" | Very Low | $182,000 |
| 27 | Orange County | 41.0" | Relatively Moderate | $361,100 |
| 28 | Cortland County | 41.7" | Relatively Low | $158,100 |
| 29 | Lewis County | 41.8" | Very Low | $158,000 |
| 30 | Broome County | 42.0" | Relatively Moderate | $145,100 |
| 31 | Tioga County | 42.0" | Relatively Low | $153,200 |
| 32 | Queens County | 43.3" | Relatively High | $699,200 |
| 33 | Clinton County | 43.4" | Relatively Low | $175,100 |
| 34 | Hamilton County | 43.5" | Very Low | $242,000 |
| 35 | Oneida County | 43.8" | Relatively Moderate | $171,100 |
| 36 | Columbia County | 44.1" | Relatively Low | $309,800 |
| 37 | Cayuga County | 44.3" | Relatively Low | $164,200 |
| 38 | Wyoming County | 45.2" | Very Low | $154,700 |
| 39 | Chenango County | 45.3" | Relatively Low | $128,100 |
| 40 | Nassau County | 45.3" | Relatively High | $658,700 |
| 41 | Chautauqua County | 45.7" | Relatively Moderate | $119,300 |
| 42 | Dutchess County | 45.8" | Relatively Moderate | $368,100 |
| 43 | Saratoga County | 46.4" | Relatively Low | $324,800 |
| 44 | Richmond County | 46.6" | Relatively Moderate | $658,500 |
| 45 | Kings County | 47.1" | Relatively High | $889,700 |
| 46 | Rensselaer County | 47.1" | Relatively Moderate | $244,300 |
| 47 | Cattaraugus County | 47.2" | Relatively Moderate | $109,400 |
| 48 | Suffolk County | 47.2" | Relatively High | $539,500 |
| 49 | Otsego County | 47.6" | Relatively Low | $175,900 |
| 50 | Rockland County | 47.8" | Relatively Moderate | $564,200 |
| 51 | Westchester County | 47.8" | Relatively High | $638,400 |
| 52 | Madison County | 48.1" | Relatively Low | $176,800 |
| 53 | Delaware County | 48.6" | Relatively Moderate | $176,200 |
| 54 | New York County | 49.5" | Relatively High | $1,108,900 |
| 55 | Herkimer County | 49.8" | Relatively Low | $135,000 |
| 56 | Bronx County | 49.9" | Relatively High | $517,000 |
| 57 | Putnam County | 50.4" | Very Low | $448,000 |
| 58 | Fulton County | 50.7" | Relatively Low | $156,100 |
| 59 | Montgomery County | 50.7" | Relatively Low | $141,600 |
| 60 | Sullivan County | 53.1" | Relatively Low | $234,800 |
| 61 | Greene County | 56.0" | Relatively Low | $248,300 |
| 62 | Ulster County | 63.1" | Relatively Moderate | $315,100 |
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 New York