Climate Risk Atlas/UT/Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, UT Earthquake & Climate Risk Profile

The primary drivers of climate-related financial risk in Salt Lake City, UT are Earthquake, Inland Flooding, and Wildfire. Based on recent federal data, homeowners in this market face an estimated average annual insurance premium of $1,235, with a local policy non-renewal rate of 1.1%.

City Risk Scorecard
Physical Resilience51/100

Based on FEMA EAL and hazard intensity.

Insurance Stability
Market Stable

Metrics indicate a balanced risk-to-premium environment with standard renewal rates.

Spatial Analysis

Flood Plain Analysis

Localized Flood Dynamics in Salt Lake City

FEMA Flood Maps for Salt Lake City identify the "100-year" and "500-year" floodplains (1% and 0.2% annual chance), but modern climate risk analysis suggests that nearly 25% of flood insurance claims originate from properties outside of these designated high-risk zones.

Use the map above to better understand risk by looking at both the FEMA flood plain maps and FEMA Risk Inventory maps by census tract. Standard FEMA maps may not account for 'flash flooding' from intense rain events.
FEMA Designation vs. Reality
Relatively High
Relative Vulnerability
$15,601,588
Annualized Property Exposure

Insurance Market & Climate Stress Analysis

Current Avg. Premium (2022)

$1,235
Latest Market Rate

Recent Year Change

+4.8%
YoY Increase

2030 Forecast

$1,700
Based on 4.07% CAGR

Market Retreat (Non-Renewals)

1.07%

Higher rates indicate insurers are actively reducing exposure to Salt Lake City due to climate-linked risk.

Underwriting Stress (Loss Ratio)

50.3%

A ratio over 70% suggests insurers are paying out nearly all premiums as claims, forcing future price hikes.

Historical Market Trends

Toggle series below to compare costs vs. market stress indicators

Historical Trends & Forecasting

Compare premium costs against underlying risk factors.

Primary Risks

Earthquake

$168,930,345

Expected Annual Loss for Salt Lake City

96.2Score

Very High compared to US average

Inland Flooding

$15,601,588

Expected Annual Loss for Salt Lake City

18.9Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Wildfire

$1,437,120

Expected Annual Loss for Salt Lake City

28.1Score

Very High compared to US average

Financial Risk Inventory

MAJOR DRIVER
Earthquake
$168,930,345
Score: 96.2
MAJOR DRIVER
Inland Flooding
$15,601,588
Score: 18.9
MAJOR DRIVER
Wildfire
$1,437,120
Score: 28.1
Heat Wave
$1,089,667
Score: 28.4
Tornado
$757,539
Score: 25.5
Lightning
$427,344
Score: 38.2
Winter Weather
$399,141
Score: 73.0
Strong Wind
$237,564
Score: 21.4
Hail
$157,388
Score: 31.8
Cold Wave
$120,853
Score: 18.1
Drought
$3,770
Score: 5.6
Ice Storm
$2,377
Score: 0.9
Landslide
$1,953
Score: 25.5
Volcanic Activity
$49
Score: 57.2

Recommended Mitigation Strategies

Recommended investments to protect your property value and reduce insurance liability based on your local risk profile.

🏠Low Investment

Earthquake Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 96.2
🏠Low Investment

Winter Weather Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 73.0
🏠Low Investment

Volcanic Activity Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 57.2

Sources and Methodology

Spatial Climate Risk Modeling

The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) and hazard risk scores are derived from the FEMA NRI zip code dataset using a population-weighted spatial join. Because Zip Codes and Census Tracts do not share perfectly aligned boundaries, we utilize US Census Block Group population centroids to identify where residents actually live.

Financial & Insurance Metrics

The pysical resilence score is calculated by synthesizing Expected Annual Loss (EAL) against the total building replacement value within a jurisdiction. This creates a "Loss Ratio" that measures physical resilience. We supplement this with ZIP-code level data from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO), monitoring trends in premium growth, loss ratios, and policy non-renewals to identify emerging "Insurance Deserts."

Primary Data Sources

Nearby Cities

Zip Codes in Salt Lake City