---
title: Pinellas, FL — natural hazard risk profile & national ranking
source: FEMA National Risk Index (county-level)
sourceUrl: https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/
fips: 12103
---

# Pinellas, FL

Florida · pop. 958,822 · FIPS 12103

**FEMA risk rating: Relatively High** · dominant hazard: Lightning · modeled expected annual loss $303M/yr

These risk dimensions are FEMA/CDC MODELS (a rating, not records of disasters); population is a recorded census figure.

## Where Pinellas ranks among 3,232 U.S. counties

Each rank is COMPUTED — the county's modeled score placed within the national distribution. A rank within a model, not within observed disasters.

| Dimension | This county | National rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FEMA risk index | 98.22 | ≈ 98th pct — among the highest nationally (national median 50.02, n=3,144) |
| Expected annual loss | $303M | ≈ 94th pct — among the highest nationally (national median $15M, n=3,232) |
| Social vulnerability | 59.92 | ≈ 60th pct — near the national middle (60th percentile) (national median 50.03, n=3,144) |
| Community resilience | 10.91 | ≈ 11th pct — among the lowest nationally (national median 50.02, n=3,144) |

## Realized flood losses in Pinellas (RECORDED — NFIP claims)

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid **51,759** flood-insurance claims totaling **$3.7B** in Pinellas since 1978. The costliest year of loss was **2024** ($3.4B paid).

| Metric | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Total claims paid | $3,737,997,421 |
| Claims | 51,759 |
| Average claim | $72,219 |
| Largest single claim | $5,761,925 |
| Claims since 2000 | 33,144 |
| In high-risk flood zones (A/V) | 94% |

These are **RECORDED** actual paid NFIP claims (a redacted census from OpenFEMA), not a model — the realized counterpart to the FEMA risk score above. **Scope:** flood-*insurance* claims UNDERCOUNT flooding where owners were uninsured ("what NFIP paid," not "every flood"); county-level totals, not a per-property verdict. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v2 (`src:openfema:nfip-claims-v2:2026`). Verify an address and buy coverage at https://www.floodsmart.gov/.

## What this is — and is NOT (interpretation)

This is FEMA/CDC **modeled** hazard exposure for Pinellas, FL and its national rank. It is **not** a verdict on whether Pinellas is a good or bad place to live (hazard exposure is not place quality), **not** a per-property or per-address assessment, **not** a prediction of any specific disaster, and **not** insurance advice. For site-specific risk use a per-property assessment; for the model see https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/.

---

Structured data (JSON-LD), with each figure's status labeled: `/property/counties/12103.jsonld`