Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Pennsylvania
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.
Pennsylvania ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulton County | 35.6" | Very Low | $206,000 |
| 2 | Blair County | 36.6" | Relatively Low | $156,700 |
| 3 | Bradford County | 38.6" | Relatively Low | $182,300 |
| 4 | Lackawanna County | 38.7" | Relatively Moderate | $189,900 |
| 5 | Luzerne County | 38.7" | Relatively Moderate | $163,800 |
| 6 | Wyoming County | 38.7" | Relatively Low | $205,600 |
| 7 | Clearfield County | 40.3" | Relatively Low | $125,000 |
| 8 | Bedford County | 40.5" | Relatively Low | $172,900 |
| 9 | Beaver County | 40.7" | Relatively Low | $185,500 |
| 10 | Huntingdon County | 40.7" | Relatively Low | $180,300 |
| 11 | Montour County | 40.9" | Very Low | $240,300 |
| 12 | Snyder County | 40.9" | Relatively Low | $205,500 |
| 13 | Union County | 40.9" | Relatively Low | $222,900 |
| 14 | Mercer County | 41.2" | Relatively Low | $153,600 |
| 15 | Clinton County | 41.2" | Relatively Low | $179,100 |
| 16 | Somerset County | 41.3" | Relatively Low | $130,600 |
| 17 | Allegheny County | 41.3" | Relatively High | $216,700 |
| 18 | Washington County | 41.3" | Relatively Moderate | $220,600 |
| 19 | Crawford County | 41.4" | Relatively Low | $143,400 |
| 20 | Centre County | 41.5" | Relatively Low | $308,100 |
| 21 | Lawrence County | 41.8" | Relatively Low | $136,700 |
| 22 | McKean County | 41.9" | Relatively Low | $98,700 |
| 23 | Juniata County | 42.1" | Very Low | $206,300 |
| 24 | Mifflin County | 42.1" | Relatively Low | $142,900 |
| 25 | Tioga County | 42.3" | Relatively Low | $176,000 |
| 26 | Jefferson County | 42.4" | Relatively Low | $126,700 |
| 27 | Erie County | 43.0" | Relatively Moderate | $169,500 |
| 28 | Greene County | 43.1" | Relatively Low | $146,200 |
| 29 | Butler County | 43.2" | Relatively Low | $275,600 |
| 30 | Lycoming County | 43.5" | Relatively Low | $195,600 |
| 31 | Franklin County | 43.5" | Relatively Low | $236,300 |
| 32 | Northumberland County | 43.7" | Relatively Low | $151,600 |
| 33 | Perry County | 43.7" | Relatively Low | $222,800 |
| 34 | Cameron County | 43.8" | Very Low | $88,200 |
| 35 | Westmoreland County | 43.9" | Relatively Moderate | $193,100 |
| 36 | Delaware County | 44.1" | Relatively Moderate | $302,400 |
| 37 | Lancaster County | 44.1" | Relatively High | $279,400 |
| 38 | Armstrong County | 44.3" | Relatively Low | $146,300 |
| 39 | Fayette County | 44.4" | Relatively Moderate | $126,900 |
| 40 | Adams County | 44.5" | Relatively Low | $256,100 |
| 41 | Elk County | 45.5" | Relatively Low | $128,600 |
| 42 | Venango County | 46.3" | Relatively Low | $114,500 |
| 43 | Lebanon County | 46.4" | Relatively Low | $227,300 |
| 44 | York County | 46.5" | Relatively Moderate | $235,000 |
| 45 | Susquehanna County | 46.7" | Relatively Low | $206,700 |
| 46 | Potter County | 46.7" | Very Low | $146,200 |
| 47 | Clarion County | 46.9" | Very Low | $152,100 |
| 48 | Forest County | 47.1" | Very Low | $111,900 |
| 49 | Chester County | 47.1" | Relatively Moderate | $461,800 |
| 50 | Berks County | 47.4" | Relatively Moderate | $239,700 |
| 51 | Lehigh County | 47.4" | Relatively Moderate | $276,100 |
| 52 | Northampton County | 47.4" | Relatively Moderate | $285,000 |
| 53 | Bucks County | 47.7" | Relatively High | $421,700 |
| 54 | Indiana County | 47.9" | Relatively Low | $145,400 |
| 55 | Cumberland County | 48.0" | Relatively Moderate | $261,900 |
| 56 | Columbia County | 48.4" | Relatively Low | $199,200 |
| 57 | Montgomery County | 48.5" | Relatively High | $409,900 |
| 58 | Cambria County | 48.7" | Relatively Low | $115,900 |
| 59 | Warren County | 48.9" | Relatively Low | $121,800 |
| 60 | Monroe County | 50.2" | Relatively Moderate | $241,200 |
| 61 | Pike County | 50.2" | Relatively Low | $250,900 |
| 62 | Philadelphia County | 50.7" | Very High | $232,400 |
| 63 | Dauphin County | 50.9" | Relatively Moderate | $222,300 |
| 64 | Wayne County | 51.4" | Relatively Low | $228,200 |
| 65 | Carbon County | 51.9" | Relatively Low | $193,700 |
| 66 | Sullivan County | 53.3" | Very Low | $186,400 |
| 67 | Schuylkill County | 53.6" | Relatively Moderate | $140,400 |
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 Pennsylvania