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Risk & Response

Hays County, TX

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 65.4 Relatively High

268,638
Population
9
Departments
159
Stations
46
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
4.46
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
14th highest of 254
Life Safety per 100k
1.66
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
86th highest of 254
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$46.1M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
21st highest of 254
Property Loss per Resident
$172
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
218th highest of 254

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 Hays County, the largest single contributor is Inland Flooding, 54% of the life-safety total.

Hays County carries an expected 4 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $46.1M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 254 Texas counties. Nationally, Hays County ranks 116th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 862nd for life safety per 100k residents, 410th for property loss, and 2985th 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 Hays 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 Hays County.

Talk to us about Hays County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

42%
56%
Property (buildings): $46.1M (42.5%)
Life safety: $61.1M (56.3%)
Agriculture: $1.3M (1.2%)

Total expected annual loss: $108,590,830 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.

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)

Inland Flooding
$33.0M
Tornado
$14.7M
Heat Wave
$4.5M
Cold Wave
$4.4M
Lightning
$2.3M
Strong Wind
$898K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$35.0M
Hail
$4.4M
Tornado
$3.8M
Strong Wind
$1.2M
Wildfire
$1.1M
Hurricane
$336K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Hays 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

56%
44%
Career: 56% (5)
Combination: 44% (4)
Residents per Station
1,690
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
59.2
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 9 departments registered in NERIS Public for Hays County, TX. 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 Hays 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 9 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Austin Fire Department 944,659 $105.1M Relatively Low 107
San Marcos Fire Department 77,389 $30.4M Relatively High 14
Buda Volunteer Fire Department 71,391 $11.4M Relatively High 4
Kyle Fire Department 64,947 $9.4M Relatively High 6
Wimberley Fire Rescue/Hays County Esd #4 36,521 $6.7M Relatively High 5
Oak Hill Fire Department-Travis County Emergency Services District 3 70,234 $6.6M Relatively High 2
Driftwood Fire Department 41,648 $5.0M Relatively High 2
North Hays County Fire/Rescue Department - Esd #6 41,648 $5.0M Relatively High 17
Henly Volunteer Fire Department 14,346 $2.0M Relatively Moderate 2
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.1%
Poverty Rate
12.2%
Age 65+
11.7%
Disability Rate
11.6%
Uninsured
12.2%
Pre-1980 Housing
5.7%
Mobile Homes
4.6%
Vacancy Rate
0.1%
Wood Heat
$99,779
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

6
Last 10 Years
19
Last 25 Years
Fire
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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