MoneyGeek Analysis:
Updated: August 6, 2022
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Peak hail season in the U.S. occurs from May to August — are you prepared? Hail can damage your home significantly and result in thousands of dollars of repairs, especially if you don't have adequate, affordable home insurance coverage.
To find the states with the most predicted hail risk in 2022, MoneyGeek analyzed expected annualized losses from hail overall and per capita.
Key Findings:
MoneyGeek’s analysis reveals which states are at the highest risk of hail losses and offers insights and expert advice on what homeowners can do to protect their property from hail damage.
Hail storms are predicted to cause $1.1 billion in damages in the U.S. in 2022, with 21 states forecasting relatively moderate to very high losses.
Colorado ranks No. 1 for hail losses per capita, with expected per capita losses of $30 and expected annual damages to buildings and population totaling $151.5 million. Colorado experiences around 234 hail events per year, on average, but has seen the number of events decrease yearly since 2018.
Texas has more hail storms than any other state in the country, seeing an average of 667 hail events yearly. While the state is predicted to experience $338 million in damages to buildings and population — the most of any state — Texas ranks No. 6 for annual losses per capita ($13 per capita).
Nebraska has the second highest hail risk in the nation, with expected annual losses to building damage and population at $50.8 million total and $28 per capita. The state experiences 319 hail storms per year, on average.
MoneyGeek used data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) National Risk Index datasets and calculated annual expected total losses and per capita losses by state to find the states with the highest predicted hail risk in 2022. Our ranking is in order of most to least risk per capita, with the No.1 state having the most risk per capita.
Colorado’s hail risk is the highest in the country. Indeed, Colorado locals are no stranger to hail storms, experiencing an average of 234 hail events per year and $30.13 in per capita losses. In particular, seven of Colorado’s ten most costly hail storms occurred in the Denver Metro area, with the most expensive storm producing $2.3 billion in total damages in 2017.
Following Colorado is Nebraska, with locals experiencing an average of 319 hail storms annually, typically occurring from May to July.
Oklahoma has the third-highest hail risk in the nation, with $21.46 in expected per capita losses and 159 hail incidents reported in 2021 alone.
Planning for a hailstorm is crucial to minimizing the damage to your home. Living in a hailstorm-prone area may mean investing in more solid roofing and windows, such as impact-resistant storm shutters and asphalt shingles. Even if you live in a state that only occasionally gets hailstorms, you will still want to prepare by cleaning gutters, repairing roof damages and closing chimneys. These and the following additional tips can help ensure you're ready should a hailstorm hit your home.
Follow these tips to help you protect your property from hail damage:
It’s also essential to plan for the aftermath of hail damage. Financial preparedness can also go a long way to ensure you won’t have to spend too much on repairs. This means securing the best homeowners insurance or best renters insurance policy for your needs to help pay for any property damage caused by natural disasters, including hail.
If you own a car, having affordable full coverage car insurance is essential to insure yourself against any damages caused by a hailstorm.
To help you gain more insight into how the strength of hail storms relates to climate change and how they can damage your home, MoneyGeek asked experts for their insights.
MoneyGeek’s full data set provides a detailed look at the economic impacts of hail damage by state. The state-level analysis considers the average annualized expected losses due to building damage and population exposure.
The table below uses the following terminology:
Rank | State | Building & Population Losses per Capita | Building & Population Losses | Average Annual Number of Hail Events (2018–2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Colorado | $30.13 | $151,540,124 | 234 |
2 | Nebraska | $27.81 | $50,789,184 | 319 |
3 | Oklahoma | $21.46 | $80,487,423 | 236 |
4 | South Dakota | $15.57 | $12,673,567 | 302 |
5 | North Dakota | $13.69 | $9,211,039 | 204 |
6 | Texas | $13.46 | $338,434,396 | 667 |
7 | Kansas | $11.49 | $32,790,393 | 419 |
8 | Iowa | $9.10 | $27,729,526 | 129 |
9 | Missouri | $8.29 | $49,657,261 | 182 |
10 | Minnesota | $6.19 | $32,843,959 | 196 |
11 | Wisconsin | $5.56 | $31,639,100 | 85 |
12 | Arkansas | $4.76 | $13,878,481 | 96 |
13 | Wyoming | $4.71 | $2,654,879 | 124 |
14 | Mississippi | $4.53 | $13,437,972 | 75 |
15 | Georgia | $4.20 | $40,719,967 | 62 |
16 | Ohio | $3.45 | $39,794,375 | 68 |
17 | Illinois | $3.10 | $39,812,637 | 105 |
18 | Kentucky | $2.44 | $10,573,351 | 44 |
19 | Indiana | $2.41 | $15,654,462 | 58 |
20 | North Carolina | $1.61 | $15,354,426 | 71 |
21 | Montana | $1.45 | $1,438,561 | 150 |
22 | Michigan | $1.32 | $13,002,424 | 47 |
23 | Tennessee | $1.25 | $7,945,359 | 65 |
24 | West Virginia | $1.24 | $2,294,033 | 33 |
25 | New Mexico | $1.18 | $2,420,631 | 75 |
26 | Louisiana | $1.13 | $5,102,030 | 61 |
27 | South Carolina | $0.99 | $4,568,784 | 41 |
28 | Virginia | $0.74 | $5,922,522 | 58 |
29 | Arizona | $0.69 | $4,394,553 | 29 |
30 | Alabama | $0.61 | $2,919,997 | 64 |
31 | Idaho | $0.52 | $809,852 | 18 |
32 | District of Columbia | $0.24 | $145,517 | 1 |
33 | Vermont | $0.23 | $143,245 | 2 |
34 | New Hampshire | $0.21 | $279,185 | 17 |
35 | Pennsylvania | $0.18 | $2,291,653 | 74 |
36 | Maine | $0.16 | $212,934 | 13 |
37 | Nevada | $0.15 | $409,361 | 3 |
38 | Utah | $0.15 | $415,118 | 9 |
39 | Oregon | $0.14 | $527,915 | 12 |
40 | Alaska | $0.12 | $85,998 | 0 |
41 | Delaware | $0.12 | $107,563 | 4 |
42 | New York | $0.09 | $1,751,604 | 37 |
43 | New Jersey | $0.07 | $647,224 | 18 |
44 | Hawaii | $0.07 | $89,143 | 0 |
45 | Florida | $0.05 | $866,520 | 39 |
46 | Massachusetts | $0.05 | $297,667 | 12 |
47 | Washington | $0.04 | $277,048 | 5 |
48 | Maryland | $0.04 | $226,044 | 21 |
49 | California | $0.02 | $910,303 | 8 |
50 | Rhode Island | $0.02 | $23,387 | 2 |
51 | Connecticut | $0.02 | $70,405 | 7 |
MoneyGeek analyzed FEMA’s National Risk Index datasets to calculate the expected annual hail-related financial losses for each city from building damage and population exposure data, which considers the FEMA-determined statistical value of life to be $7.6 million.
To calculate per capita risk, MoneyGeek utilized state populations as of 2016. We calculated the average number of annual hail events using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data from 2018 to 2021.
The National Risk Index data also includes estimates for agricultural losses due to hail, which were excluded from MoneyGeek’s analysis.
About Melody Kasulis
Melody Kasulis is a data analyst and content director at MoneyGeek, with years of experience analyzing data in the health, personal finance, auto and home verticals.
