---
title: Guilford, NC — natural hazard risk profile & national ranking
source: FEMA National Risk Index (county-level)
sourceUrl: https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/
fips: 37081
---

# Guilford, NC

North Carolina · pop. 540,974 · FIPS 37081

**FEMA risk rating: Relatively Moderate** · dominant hazard: Ice Storm · modeled expected annual loss $135M/yr

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

## Where Guilford 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 | 93.45 | ≈ 93rd pct — among the highest nationally (national median 50.02, n=3,144) |
| Expected annual loss | $135M | ≈ 42nd pct — near the national middle (42nd percentile) (national median $15M, n=3,232) |
| Social vulnerability | 42.78 | ≈ 43rd pct — near the national middle (43rd percentile) (national median 50.03, n=3,144) |
| Community resilience | 56.42 | ≈ 56th pct — near the national middle (56th percentile) (national median 50.02, n=3,144) |

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

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid **680** flood-insurance claims totaling **$9M** in Guilford since 1978. The costliest year of loss was **2018** ($2M paid).

| Metric | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Total claims paid | $9,376,915 |
| Claims | 680 |
| Average claim | $13,790 |
| Largest single claim | $232,793 |
| Claims since 2000 | 393 |
| In high-risk flood zones (A/V) | 61% |

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 Guilford, NC and its national rank. It is **not** a verdict on whether Guilford 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/.

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Structured data (JSON-LD), with each figure's status labeled: `/property/counties/37081.jsonld`