These States Receive the Most Disaster Aid Every Year
The annual disaster bill in the U.S. runs in the billions.
1. New York
- Total aid received 2013-2020 (projected): $19,460,000,000
- Average disaster aid received annually: $2,432,500,000
- Number of disasters since 1953: 101
- COVID-19 aid received (through April): $1,090,000,000
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Erica Corbin contributed to the reporting of this article.
Methodology: To find the states that receive the most disaster aid every year, GOBankingRates analyzed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund reports to Congress for the fiscal years 2013-2020. GOBankingRates used full annual reports for FYs 2013-2019 and the May 2020 Report for the fiscal year 2020, which includes obligations through April and FEMA’s estimated projected spending through the end of the fiscal year. GOBankingRates found the total amount FEMA committed to each state in obligations in every fiscal year (October-September). Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia were found to have received at least $1 million in aid from FEMA in the period. These states and D.C. were then ranked by the average amount of aid they received in disaster relief fund obligations from FEMA per year. The state averaging the highest amount from FEMA each year was ranked No. 1, and the state receiving the least, No. 35. Aid obligated in relation to the COVID-19 crisis was omitted from state totals to account for the unusual nature of the disaster and considerable skew its inclusion would introduce to the final ranking. COVID-19 aid data is provided separately. GOBankingRates also provided information on the total number of disasters that have occurred in each state since record-keeping began in 1953, according to FEMA’s disaster declarations data. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 21, 2020.
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