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Risk & Response

Monterey County, CA

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 78.1 Relatively High

437,613
Population
24
Departments
93
Stations
104
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
4.35
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
19th highest of 58
Life Safety per 100k
0.99
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
28th highest of 58
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$258.8M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
18th highest of 58
Property Loss per Resident
$591
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
39th highest of 58

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Monterey County, the largest single contributor is Earthquake, 86% of the life-safety total.

Monterey County carries an expected 4 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $258.8M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 58 California counties. Nationally, Monterey County ranks 120th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1746th for life safety per 100k residents, 58th for property loss, and 609th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Monterey County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Monterey County.

Talk to us about Monterey County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

64%
15%
21%
Property (buildings): $258.8M (64.3%)
Life safety: $59.5M (14.8%)
Agriculture: $84.0M (20.9%)

Total expected annual loss: $402,384,191 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Agriculture is 21% of expected annual loss in Monterey County, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Earthquake
$51.4M
Heat Wave
$4.8M
Landslide
$1.6M
Inland Flooding
$728K
Wildfire
$581K
Lightning
$329K

By property loss ($/yr)

Earthquake
$130.4M
Inland Flooding
$107.3M
Wildfire
$16.5M
Landslide
$3.1M
Tsunami
$712K
Coastal Flooding
$421K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Monterey County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

42%
33%
25%
Career: 42% (10)
Combination: 33% (8)
Volunteer: 25% (6)
Residents per Station
4,706
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
21.3
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 24 departments registered in NERIS Public for Monterey County, CA. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Monterey County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 24 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Salinas Fire Department 158,625 $26.4M Very High 12
Correctional Training Facility Fire Department 194,926 $24.7M Relatively High 1
California Forestry 187,044 $23.7M Relatively High 10
Hollister Fire Department 67,084 $13.5M Very High 4
San Benito County Fire Department 67,084 $13.5M Very High 1
North County Fire Protection District Of Monterey County 92,657 $10.2M Very High 6
South Monterey County Fire Protection District 20,658 $4.0M Very High 3
Monterey Fire Department 47,152 $3.8M Relatively Moderate 11
City Of Seaside Fire Department 33,567 $3.5M Relatively Moderate 2
Monterey County Regional Fire District 35,783 $3.3M Very High 13
Fort Hunter Liggett Army Fire & Emergency Services 6,599 $2.7M Very High 2
Marina Fire Department 23,499 $2.6M Relatively High 8
City Of Soledad Fire Department 29,901 $2.2M Relatively High 1
King City Fire Department 14,083 $2.1M Very High 1
Greenfield Fire Department 21,825 $1.9M Very High 2
Mission Soledad Rural Fire Protection District 27,312 $1.7M Relatively Moderate 0
Gonzales Volunteer Fire Department 8,784 $1.5M Very High 1
Aromas Tri-County Fire Protection District 5,365 $1.5M Very High 1
Cypress Fire Protection District 7,125 $602.9K Very High 3
Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade 1,431 $386.5K Relatively High 5
Pebble Beach Fire Department 3,706 $247.5K Relatively High 1
Cachagua Fire Protection District 1,014 $148.5K Very High 3
Mid-Coast Fire Brigade 480 $112.2K Relatively High 1
Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District 857 $71.6K Very High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.7%
Poverty Rate
14.9%
Age 65+
9.3%
Disability Rate
9.6%
Uninsured
58.3%
Pre-1980 Housing
4.0%
Mobile Homes
8.9%
Vacancy Rate
1.5%
Wood Heat
$96,982
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

14
Last 10 Years
19
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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