Fayette County

WV PDC Region: 4

(County Scale, All Risk Indicators Report)

May 2025

Cumulative Flood Risk Score

53.7% Moderate

Ranks 26th of 55 counties in the state

0 of 25 risk indicators among the top 10% counties.
4 of 25 risk indicators among the top 20% counties.

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Noteworthy Flood Risk Facts for Fayette County

Table 1. Noteworthy Flood Risk Facts: A Cumulative Flood Risk Index of 25 flood factors reveals that Fayette County ranks 26th of 55 counties in the state with a Cumulative Flood Risk Score of 53.7%. Below are all 25 flood risk indicators used in the risk index. Click on the More Info link for rationale and recommendations of each indicator.

Risk Indicator	Description	More Info	Supplementary External Links
Floodplain Area	4,974 acres of high-risk floodplain.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Area by County
Floodplain Length	389.9 miles of high-risk floodplain.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Length by County
Flood Declared Disasters	17 flood declared disasters since 1953.	Click for more information.	Federally-Declared Flood Disasters by County Federally-Declared Flood Disasters by County
Flood Depth Median	1.2 feet median base flood depth.	Click for more information.	Media Flood Depth by County (FEMA 1% Flood) Media Flood Depth by County (FEMA 1% Flood) Percent Rank Classification
Building Floodplain Count	1,370 buildings in a high-risk flood zone.	Click for more information.	Building Count in SFHA by County Building Count in SFHA by County (Percent Rank Classification)
Building Floodway Count	51 buildings in the regulatory floodway or main river channel.	Click for more information.	Floodway Building Count by County Floodway Building Count by County (Percent Rank Classification) Floodway Building Ratio by County
Building Floodplain Ratio	5.7% of floodplain buildings to total buildings.	Click for more information.	Floodplain Building Ratio by County
Building Density	0.28 buildings/acre density in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Building Density in SFHA by County
Building Median Value	$28,500 median building value in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Building Exposure Low Values <= $10K by County
Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio	15.9% of single-family dwellings in floodplain are manufactured homes.	Click for more information.	Mobile Homes Ratio by County
Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio	21.8% of floodplain buildings have subgrade basements.	Click for more information.	Building Subgrade Basement Ratio by County Building Subgrade Basement Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Building 1-Story Ratio	92.7% of floodplain buildings have only one story.	Click for more information.	Building One-Story Ratio by County Building One-Story Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio	87.3% of floodplain buildings are Pre-FIRM or built with no FIRM in effect.	Click for more information.	Building Year Pre-FIRM Ratio by County Building Year Pre-FIRM Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio	2.6% of floodplain buildings are Post-FIRM with lowest floor below BFE.	Click for more information.	Building Year Post-FIRM Minus-Rated Building Ratio by County Building Year Post-FIRM Minus-Rated Building Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Essential Facilities	15 essential facilities in moderate and high risk floodplains.	Click for more information.	Essential Facilities in High-Moderate Risk Floodplain by County
Roads Inundated Ratio	4.1% of roads flooded by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) major flood.	Click for more information.	Roads Inundated Ratio for 1% Flood by County
Community Assets Historical	14 historical assets in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Historical Community Assets Density Statewide
Community Assets Non-Historical	52 non-historical assets in floodplain.	Click for more information.	Non-Historical Community Assets Count by Community
Bldg. Substantial Damage Count	74 bldgs. substantially damaged by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) flood.	Click for more information.	Building Substantial Damage Debris Removal Estimates by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage Count by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage Count by County (1% Flood) (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio	5.4% of buildings in floodplain substantially damaged by major storm.	Click for more information.	Building Substantial Damage to Total SFHA Structures Ratio by County (1% Flood) Building Substantial Damage to Total SFHA Structures Ratio by County (1% Flood) (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Previous Damage Claims	310 buildings have prior damage claims.	Click for more information.	Building Damage Claims Number by County (Natural Break) Building Damage Claims Number by County (Percent Rank)
Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures	79 repetitive loss structures.	Click for more information.
Population in Floodplain Ratio	8.7% of the population resides in a high-risk flood zone.	Click for more information.	Population Ratio by County Population Ratio by County (Percent Rank)
Population Displaced Ratio	4.8% of population displaced by a 1% annual chance (100-yr) flood event.	Click for more information.	Population Estimated Requiring Short-Term Shelter by County (1% Flood)
WV Social Vulnerability Index	72.2% index score of WV Social Vulnerability.	Click for more information.	Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) by County (Percent Rank) CDC SVI by County
Cumulative Index	53.7% cumulative risk index score.	Click for more information.	Cumulative Risk Index by County

Flood Risk Index Scores for Fayette County

Table 2. Flood Risk Index Scores: A Cumulative Flood Risk Index of 25 flood factors reveals that Fayette County ranks 26th of 55 counties in the state with a Cumulative Flood Risk Score of 53.7%. Below are all 25 flood risk indicators used in the risk index with the indicator scores and rankings.

Category	Flood Risk Indicator	Value for Fayette	Indicator Score (0 - 100%)	Indicator Rating
Floodplain Characteristics	Floodplain Area Click for more information.	4,974 Acres	12.9%	Very Low
	Floodplain Length Click for more information.	389.9 Miles	74.0%	Relatively High
	Flood Declared Disasters Click for more information.	17	55.5%	Moderate
	Flood Depth Median Click for more information.	1.2 Ft	5.5%	Very Low
	Floodplain Characteristics Index, 41st		25.9%	Relatively Low
Building Exposure	Building Floodplain Count Click for more information.	1,370	62.9%	Relatively High
	Building Floodway Count Click for more information.	51	44.4%	Moderate
	Building Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	5.7%	44.4%	Moderate
	Building Density Click for more information.	0.28 /Acre	83.3%	Very High
	Building Exposure Index, 21st		62.9%	Relatively High
Building Characteristics	Building Median Value Click for more information.	$28,500	22.2%	Relatively Low
	Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio Click for more information.	15.9%	11.1%	Very Low
	Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio Click for more information.	21.8%	51.8%	Moderate
	Building 1-Story Ratio Click for more information.	92.7%	83.3%	Very High
	Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	87.3%	85.1%	Very High
	Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	2.6%	16.6%	Very Low
	Building Characteristics Index, 41st		25.9%	Relatively Low
Critical Infrastructure	Essential Facilities Click for more information.	15	87.0%	Very High
	Roads Inundated Ratio Click for more information.	4.1%	16.6%	Very Low
	Critical Infrastructure Index, 22nd		61.1%	Relatively High
Community Assets	Community Assets Historical Click for more information.	14	61.1%	Relatively High
	Community Assets Non-Historical Click for more information.	52	77.7%	Relatively High
	Community Assets Index, 12th		77.7%	Relatively High
Building Damage Loss	Bldg. Substantial Damage Count Click for more information.	74	48.1%	Moderate
	Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio Click for more information.	5.4%	42.5%	Moderate
	Bldg. Previous Damage Claims Click for more information.	310	46.2%	Moderate
	Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures Click for more information.	79	38.8%	Relatively Low
	Building Damage Loss Index, 31st		44.4%	Moderate
People / Social Vulnerabilities	Population in Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	8.7%	37.0%	Relatively Low
	Population Displaced Ratio Click for more information.	4.8%	40.7%	Moderate
	WV Social Vulnerability Index Click for more information.	-	72.2%	Relatively High
	People / Social Vulnerabilities Index, 26th		53.7%	Moderate
Risk Index	Cumulative Index Click for more information.		53.7%	Moderate

Risk Index Legend

VERY HIGH: 90% - 100%

Very High: 80% - 100%

Relatively High: 60% - 79.9%

Moderate: 40% - 59.9%

Relatively Low: 20% - 39.9%

Very Low: 0% - 19.9%

Flood Risk Indicators of Fayette County Compared to Other Counties

Table 3. Flood Risk Index Comparison: Flood risk indicator values for Fayette County compared to descriptive statistics of all counties.

Category	Flood Risk Indicator	Value for Fayette	Median Value	Mean Value	Min Value	Max Value	State Stats
Floodplain Characteristics	Floodplain Area Click for more information.	4,974 Acres	8,085 Acres	9,612 Acres	1,528 Acres	26,607 Acres	528,635 Acres
	Floodplain Length Click for more information.	389.9 Miles	303.9 Miles	312.8 Miles	75.3 Miles	911.2 Miles	17,205.1 Miles
	Flood Declared Disasters Click for more information.	17	16	16	9	28	64
	Flood Depth Median Click for more information.	1.2 Ft	2.1 Ft	2.4 Ft	0.9 Ft	5.1 Ft	1.8 Ft

Building Exposure	Building Floodplain Count Click for more information.	1,370	939	1,498	300	13,452	82,408
	Building Floodway Count Click for more information.	51	67	150	0	1,462	8,237
	Building Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	5.7%	5.9%	7.9%	0.8%	24.5%	7.4%
	Building Density Click for more information.	0.28 /Acre	0.1 /Acre	0.19 /Acre	0.02 /Acre	1.12 /Acre	0.16 /Acre

Building Characteristics	Building Median Value Click for more information.	$28,500	$42,200	$42,023	$14,000	$97,450	$38,200
	Bldg. Mobile Homes Ratio Click for more information.	15.9%	25.8%	25.9%	4.0%	53.3%	27.5%
	Bldg. Subgrade Basements Ratio Click for more information.	21.8%	21.6%	25.1%	10.4%	71.7%	24.8%
	Building 1-Story Ratio Click for more information.	92.7%	84.0%	82.4%	39.4%	94.9%	84.0%
	Bldg. Year Pre-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	87.3%	80.0%	77.8%	57.3%	92.9%	77.5%
	Bldg. Year Minus Rated Post-FIRM Ratio Click for more information.	2.6%	4.6%	6.4%	1.0%	23.0%	5.8%

Critical Infrastructure	Essential Facilities Click for more information.	15	5	9	0	80	489
	Roads Inundated Ratio Click for more information.	4.1%	5.7%	6.8%	2.6%	19.2%	6.7%

Community Assets	Community Assets Historical Click for more information.	14	7	50	0	1,263	2,758
	Community Assets Non-Historical Click for more information.	52	27	38	8	261	2,092

Building Damage Loss	Bldg. Substantial Damage Count Click for more information.	74	80	118	4	975	6,493
	Bldg. Substantial Damage Ratio Click for more information.	5.4%	6.1%	9.0%	1.2%	33.4%	7.9%
	Bldg. Previous Damage Claims Click for more information.	310	350	507	34	3,044	27,882
	Bldg. Repetitive Loss Structures Click for more information.	79	127	176	5	1,547	9,698

People / Social Vulnerabilities	Population in Floodplain Ratio Click for more information.	8.7%	10.6%	14.0%	1.0%	45.0%	11.0%
	Population Displaced Ratio Click for more information.	4.8%	5.5%	8.2%	0.6%	30.4%	6.6%
	WV Social Vulnerability Index Click for more information.	72.2%	50.0%	50.0%	0.0%	100.0%	-

General Information Statistics for Fayette County

Table 4. General Information and comparison statistics for Fayette County.

	Total Area (ACRES)	Total Structures	Total Population	Population Density (/SQ MILE)	Number of Households	Average Household Size

Fayette County	427,662	24,115	41,056	61.4	15,836	2.5

STATE STATS	15,500,454	1,118,761	1,801,049	74.4	711,352	2.5
COUNTIES STATS:
Median	269,049	16,115	22,603	47.0	7,912	2.6
Mean	281,826	20,341	32,746	93.5	12,934	2.6
Minimum	56,402 (Hancock)	3,954 (Calhoun)	5,264 (Wirt)	8.5 (Pocahontas)	2,081 (Wirt)	2.2 (Brooke)
Maximum	665,171 (Randolph)	100,457 (Kanawha)	181,953 (Kanawha)	389.9 (Ohio)	76,919 (Kanawha)	3.1 (Doddridge)

Risk Indicator data last updated August 2024