Flood zones, flood insurance and FEMA help, in plain English

Colorado flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

5,802NFIP flood claims since 1978
$91.7 millionPaid on those claims
$22,102Average paid claimlast 10 years
0.6%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
$940Typical yearly NFIP costsingle-family home
5Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 5,802 flood insurance claims in Colorado since 1978. The NFIP paid $91.7 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2013, with 2,301, mostly from Late summer storms.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 501 claims, and the average paid claim was $22,102.

50% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 0.6% of homes in Colorado had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (11,282 of 1,993,984 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 24% (5,417 of 22,669).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 5 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Colorado. The most recent was DR-4944-CO (Wildfires, Flooding, and Mudslides), declared September 1, 2026.

Flood insurance claims in Colorado by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Colorado, 1978 to 202606251.2k1.9k2.5k1978: 58 claims, $181,206 paid1979: 134 claims, $324,451 paid1980: 125 claims, $244,186 paid19801981: 65 claims, $141,183 paid1982: 181 claims, $1.3 million paid1983: 186 claims, $612,725 paid1984: 142 claims, $512,317 paid1985: 56 claims, $268,819 paid1986: 28 claims, $62,510 paid1987: 33 claims, $115,770 paid1988: 11 claims, $6,802 paid1989: 20 claims, $66,729 paid1990: 34 claims, $52,421 paid19901991: 50 claims, $115,436 paid1992: 16 claims, $22,508 paid1993: 23 claims, $88,298 paid1994: 38 claims, $103,629 paid1995: 148 claims, $325,190 paid1996: 57 claims, $115,416 paid1997: 190 claims, $756,079 paid1998: 84 claims, $480,753 paid1999: 290 claims, $2.0 million paid2000: 34 claims, $92,698 paid20002001: 56 claims, $141,378 paid2002: 27 claims, $435,779 paid2003: 32 claims, $46,207 paid2004: 29 claims, $62,429 paid2005: 18 claims, $70,250 paid2006: 29 claims, $100,442 paid2007: 48 claims, $870,344 paid2008: 34 claims, $87,835 paid2009: 51 claims, $825,807 paid2010: 49 claims, $191,834 paid20102011: 89 claims, $512,493 paid2012: 64 claims, $752,113 paid2013: 2,301 claims, $72.6 million paid2014: 88 claims, $405,683 paid2015: 329 claims, $1.9 million paid2016: 54 claims, $118,698 paid2017: 44 claims, $45,107 paid2018: 53 claims, $654,156 paid2019: 66 claims, $300,596 paid2020: 17 claims, $240,697 paid20202021: 53 claims, $410,811 paid2022: 41 claims, $681,935 paid2023: 132 claims, $1.1 million paid2024: 19 claims, $40,264 paid2025: 50 claims, $549,696 paid2026: 26 claims, $542,294 paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
202626$542,294
202550$549,696
202419$40,264
2023132$1.1 million
202241$681,935
202153$410,811
202017$240,697
201966$300,596
201853$654,156
201744$45,107
201654$118,698
2015329$1.9 million
201488$405,683
20132,301$72.6 million
201264$752,113
201189$512,493
201049$191,834
200951$825,807
200834$87,835
200748$870,344
200629$100,442
200518$70,250
200429$62,429
200332$46,207
200227$435,779
200156$141,378
200034$92,698
1999290$2.0 million
199884$480,753
1997190$756,079
199657$115,416
1995148$325,190
199438$103,629
199323$88,298
199216$22,508
199150$115,436
199034$52,421
198920$66,729
198811$6,802
198733$115,770
198628$62,510
198556$268,819
1984142$512,317
1983186$612,725
1982181$1.3 million
198165$141,183
1980125$244,186
1979134$324,451
197858$181,206

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for Colorado, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Late summer storms20132,157$69.7 million
Flooding199791$585,281
Colorado Burn Scar Flash Flooding20223$269,616
Flooding198322$142,640

What flood insurance costs in Colorado

On June 30, 2026, 15,777 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in Colorado. For the 9,492 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $940; the average was $1,150.

Rated flood zonePoliciesTypical yearly cost, single-family homeAverage costAverage building coverage
High-risk zones (A and V)8,583$1,160$1,470$227,000
Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X)7,153$710$860$229,000

Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.

Policies and average cost by exact flood zone
Rated zonePoliciesAverage cost, single-family home
X7,085$850
AE6,709$1,460
AO839$1,450
A763$1,500
AH155$1,190
A0751$1,600
C45$1,390
D39$2,660
B23n/a
A0417n/a
A0316n/a
A0611n/a
A0511n/a
A096n/a
A022n/a

Flood history by county

Every Colorado county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy; "typical NFIP cost" is the median yearly cost for single-family homes.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredTypical NFIP costFlood declarations
Boulder County1,784$50.1 million2.3%$1,0903
El Paso County857$6.0 million0.5%$7604
Larimer County547$15.1 million0.6%$7402
Jefferson County491$3.1 million0.6%$7403
Denver County243$719,4250.4%$7103
Arapahoe County207$1.0 million0.3%$6103
Weld County194$5.7 million0.3%$1,0902
Adams County154$593,6600.2%$5103
Otero County139$1.8 million0.4%$1,5100
Pueblo County100$332,0500.2%$8903
Logan County74$846,9311.9%$9604
Fremont County72$343,5870.9%$1,2903
Douglas County70$661,3300.3%$5401
La Plata County67$1.3 million1.3%$1,4100
Mesa County61$292,6730.3%$7600
Morgan County42$432,5750.7%$1,6903
Gunnison County40$86,8841.0%$1,3400
Routt County36$414,7291.1%$1,4600
Eagle County35$269,5261.1%$1,4400
Pitkin County31$235,5621.6%$1,4400
Garfield County30$93,7170.5%$1,2400
Summit County30$20,3240.9%$1,3100
Clear Creek County29$42,9391.4%$1,5102
Prowers County25$29,7260.3%n/a1
Broomfield County20$178,9360.3%$4601
Montezuma County20$19,6030.4%$1,3100
Delta County19$86,0620.2%$1,3600
Alamosa County18$4,1950.6%$5600
San Miguel County18$132,6042.7%$1,5100
Rio Grande County11$14,3181.5%$1,4100
Archuleta County10$122,7410.9%$1,3600
Teller County10$12,0250.3%$7101
Rio Blanco County9$31,0310.4%n/a0
Chaffee County7$307,1420.7%$1,3900
Grand County7$46,1790.2%$1,4900
Lincoln County7$4,3620.2%n/a2
Montrose County6$60,1270.4%$1,1900
Ouray County6$33,7260.7%$1,2901
Conejos County5$00.2%n/a0
Huerfano County5$1,1160.9%$1,3100
Yuma County5$139,8050.1%n/a1
Gilpin County4$1,4620.3%n/a1
Las Animas County4$10,9920.1%n/a0
Park County4$3430.2%$1,3101
Costilla County3$10,3170.4%n/a0
Elbert County2$00.2%n/a2
Phillips County2$7,4020.2%n/a0
Saguache County2$5,4420.0%n/a1
Crowley County1$00.0%n/a1
Custer County1$7690.0%n/a1
Hinsdale County1$00.7%n/a0
Lake County1$2,5820.2%n/a1
San Juan County1$1,1440.4%n/a0
Baca County0$00.0%n/a2
Bent County0$00.1%n/a0
Cheyenne County0$00.0%n/a1
Dolores County0$00.3%n/a1
Jackson County0$00.0%n/a0
Kiowa County0$00.0%n/a1
Kit Carson County0$00.0%n/a1
Mineral County0$00.0%n/a0
Moffat County0$00.3%n/a0
Sedgwick County0$00.1%n/a2
Washington County0$00.0%n/a4

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Colorado

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4944-CO Sep 1, 2026 Wildfires, Flooding, and Mudslides No
DR-4731-CO Aug 25, 2023 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes No
DR-4229-CO Jul 16, 2015 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4145-CO Sep 14, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides Yes
EM-3365-CO Sep 12, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.