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Risk & Response

Washington

Statewide risk profile

7.8M
Population
39
Counties
361
Departments
1,728
Stations

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
141
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
4th highest of 50
Life Safety per 100k
1.80
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
8th highest of 50
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$3.2B
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
7th highest of 50
Property Loss per Resident
$410
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
9th highest of 50

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 Washington, the largest single contributor is Earthquake, 48% of the life-safety total.

Washington carries an expected 141 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $3.2B in building loss per year. Ranks compare the 50 states. 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 in Washington enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Washington.

Talk to us about Washington See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

62%
37%
Property (buildings): $3.2B (62.1%)
Life safety: $1.9B (37.4%)
Agriculture: $22.9M (0.4%)

Total expected annual loss: $5,153,971,009 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)

Earthquake
$933.5M
Avalanche
$476.1M
Tsunami
$217.3M
Cold Wave
$101.6M
Heat Wave
$97.4M
Landslide
$31.7M

By property loss ($/yr)

Earthquake
$1.6B
Inland Flooding
$1.4B
Wildfire
$165.0M
Coastal Flooding
$41.8M
Tsunami
$13.4M
Volcanic Activity
$9.7M

County Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across counties in this state. Click any county for its full profile.

Fire Service Profile

13%
42%
37%
Career: 13%
Combination: 42%
Volunteer: 37%
Unreported: 7%
Residents per Station
4,523
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
22.1
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 361 departments registered in NERIS Public for Washington. Departments that have not registered are not counted. The mix is computed over the departments NERIS registers to Washington; departments based elsewhere that respond into it are counted in the total above but not in the mix. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

County Rankings

Counties in Washington ranked by risk. Click column headers to sort. Click a county to see its departments.

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 and station counts are derived from boundaries self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. A department serving several counties is counted in each, so the Departments column adds up to more than the statewide department total. Risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 39 counties
County ▲ Population ▲ Departments ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲
King County 2.3M 28 $671.9M Relatively High
Pierce County 930,319 26 $227.3M Relatively High
Snohomish County 844,430 20 $145.3M Relatively Moderate
Grays Harbor County 77,053 18 $135.8M Very High
Whatcom County 230,503 8 $102.9M Relatively High
Pacific County 23,994 8 $84.5M Very High
Chelan County 80,172 6 $61.6M Very High
Yakima County 257,152 14 $57.8M Relatively High
Kitsap County 277,881 8 $56.3M Relatively High
Thurston County 299,067 16 $55.8M Relatively High
Clark County 516,959 11 $51.5M Relatively Moderate
Spokane County 549,056 14 $40.6M Relatively Low
Kittitas County 47,172 7 $40.0M Very High
Cowlitz County 112,360 10 $26.8M Relatively High
Clallam County 77,813 7 $25.2M Relatively High
Lewis County 85,154 13 $23.6M Very High
Skagit County 131,328 21 $17.9M Relatively Moderate
Okanogan County 43,425 10 $17.2M Very High
Benton County 212,905 9 $15.5M Relatively Moderate
Island County 86,836 5 $12.8M Relatively Moderate
Mason County 67,982 13 $9.8M Relatively High
Grant County 101,799 13 $5.8M Relatively Moderate
Franklin County 98,902 7 $5.6M Relatively Moderate
Walla Walla County 62,161 5 $5.5M Relatively Moderate
Skamania County 12,402 7 $5.1M Relatively High
Jefferson County 33,577 5 $3.3M Relatively High
Whitman County 47,003 16 $3.2M Relatively Low
Lincoln County 11,489 8 $3.1M Very High
Stevens County 48,067 11 $3.0M Relatively Moderate
Klickitat County 23,411 14 $2.7M Very High
Wahkiakum County 4,658 3 $2.6M Very High
Douglas County 44,366 4 $2.4M Very High
Adams County 20,800 5 $1.6M Relatively Moderate
Pend Oreille County 14,050 4 $1.3M Relatively Moderate
San Juan County 18,478 4 $1.1M Relatively Moderate
Ferry County 7,387 3 $932.5K Very High
Asotin County 22,467 3 $721.6K Relatively Low
Columbia County 4,014 1 $335.4K Very High
Garfield County 2,353 0 $114.4K Relatively High
No counties match your search.
Don't see your department? Profiles exist for every department in NERIS Public with a published boundary polygon. Departments registered without a boundary, or not yet registered with NERIS, do not have a page yet because the analysis is geography-based. See why a department might be missing or contact us and we will look into it.

Risk Snapshot

9.9%
Poverty Rate
16.6%
Age 65+
13.6%
Disability Rate
6.3%
Uninsured
43.4%
Pre-1980 Housing
5.5%
Mobile Homes
7.3%
Vacancy Rate
2.8%
Wood Heat
$107,249
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

324
Last 10 Years
639
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