Arborlook
Arborlook Insights
Risk & Response

San Luis Obispo County, CA

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 71.7 Relatively High

281,555
Population
18
Departments
44
Stations
70
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
0.93
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
38th highest of 58
Life Safety per 100k
0.33
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
52nd highest of 58
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$171.8M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
22nd highest of 58
Property Loss per Resident
$610
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
36th 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 San Luis Obispo County, the largest single contributor is Earthquake, 70% of the life-safety total.

San Luis Obispo County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $171.8M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 58 California counties. Nationally, San Luis Obispo County ranks 622nd of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2922nd for life safety per 100k residents, 115th for property loss, and 574th 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 San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo County.

Talk to us about San Luis Obispo County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

80%
14%
Property (buildings): $171.8M (80.3%)
Life safety: $12.8M (6.0%)
Agriculture: $29.3M (13.7%)

Total expected annual loss: $213,915,929 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 14% of expected annual loss in San Luis Obispo 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
$8.9M
Landslide
$1.4M
Heat Wave
$1.2M
Wildfire
$1.0M
Inland Flooding
$138K
Lightning
$90K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$109.7M
Earthquake
$41.1M
Wildfire
$16.4M
Tsunami
$3.5M
Landslide
$982K
Coastal Flooding
$136K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in San Luis Obispo 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

44%
28%
11%
17%
Career: 44% (8)
Combination: 28% (5)
Volunteer: 11% (2)
Unreported: 17% (3)
Residents per Station
6,399
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
15.6
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 18 departments registered in NERIS Public for San Luis Obispo 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 San Luis Obispo 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 18 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
San Luis Obispo County Fire Department 220,682 $11.1M Relatively High 10
Camp Roberts Army Fire & Emergency Services 141,108 $7.2M Relatively High 2
Santa Maria City Fire Department 100,708 $3.9M Relatively High 7
Paso Robles Department of Emergency Services 34,853 $2.5M Relatively High 4
Atascadero Fire & Emergency Services 40,448 $2.0M Very High 2
Atascadero State Hospital Fire Department 40,447 $2.0M Very High 1
San Luis Obispo City Fire Department 36,321 $1.5M Relatively High 5
Templeton Fire & Emergency Services 18,068 $955.7K Very High 1
Five Cities Fire Authority 32,255 $947.3K Relatively High 3
San Miguel Community Services District Fire Department 8,641 $773.9K Very High 1
Morro Bay City Fire 10,183 $534.8K Relatively High 1
Hearst Castle Fire Department 8,464 $426.6K Relatively High 1
Santa Margarita Fire Department 6,249 $333.9K Very High 1
City Of Pismo Beach Fire Department 6,923 $198.2K Relatively High 2
Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Station #15- South Bay 6,996 $128.5K Relatively Low 1
Cambria Fire Department 3,534 $94.1K Relatively High 1
Cayucos Fire Protection District 386 $5.7K Very High 0
Avila Beach Fire Department -- -- Insufficient Data 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.9%
Poverty Rate
22.1%
Age 65+
13.3%
Disability Rate
5.7%
Uninsured
43.8%
Pre-1980 Housing
7.7%
Mobile Homes
12.9%
Vacancy Rate
2.5%
Wood Heat
$95,802
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

11
Last 10 Years
16
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.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo