Roof Stress Index: which counties are hardest on roofs
A roof's life depends on how old it is, how often hail hits it, and how quickly the neighborhood around it is rebuilt. Each of those numbers is public, but they sit in three different federal files. We joined them for 1,113 counties and scored every county from 0 to 100. A county where the median home goes back decades, severe hail shows up most years and few new houses go up lands near the top. 25 county pages are live and more are added every week.
Median score by state
The 25 highest-scoring counties published so far
| County | Score | National rank | Pre-2000 homes | Severe hail days / yr | Permits / 1,000 homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 81.0 | #85 | 89.8% | 3.2 | 16.5 |
| Garfield County, OK | 80.4 | #91 | 88.4% | 3.6 | 17.1 |
| Peoria County, IL | 72.1 | #174 | 85.5% | 2.5 | 11.0 |
| Winnebago County, IL | 71.1 | #181 | 86.8% | 2.5 | 16.3 |
| Shawnee County, KS | 71.1 | #182 | 86.2% | 3.3 | 29.9 |
| St. Louis County, MN | 70.3 | #188 | 85.6% | 3.8 | 33.8 |
| Comanche County, OK | 69.9 | #190 | 79.5% | 5.8 | 21.6 |
| Saline County, KS | 68.6 | #215 | 89.9% | 2.6 | 35.8 |
| Sangamon County, IL | 68.5 | #217 | 85.1% | 2.8 | 24.7 |
| Caddo Parish, LA | 64.7 | #262 | 83.0% | 2.8 | 27.8 |
| Hinds County, MS | 64.3 | #266 | 84.0% | 2.6 | 28.8 |
| Macon County, IL | 63.1 | #289 | 92.0% | 1.3 | 8.8 |
| Potter County, TX | 60.4 | #344 | 87.1% | 4.9 | 130.9 |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | 60.0 | #354 | 82.1% | 2.8 | 37.2 |
| Vigo County, IN | 59.9 | #358 | 84.4% | 1.7 | 11.5 |
| Jefferson County, CO | 59.5 | #365 | 81.1% | 3.5 | 50.8 |
| St. Joseph County, IN | 57.7 | #402 | 85.5% | 2.0 | 30.2 |
| Hall County, NE | 57.3 | #404 | 82.4% | 3.0 | 54.8 |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 57.3 | #405 | 78.8% | 6.5 | 62.5 |
| Tom Green County, TX | 56.7 | #423 | 80.4% | 4.2 | 68.0 |
| Pueblo County, CO | 56.0 | #438 | 78.6% | 4.6 | 62.3 |
| Woodbury County, IA | 55.3 | #460 | 89.1% | 1.7 | 33.9 |
| Mahoning County, OH | 55.3 | #461 | 91.4% | 1.0 | 16.2 |
| Richland County, OH | 54.4 | #484 | 90.4% | 1.2 | 18.7 |
| Clark County, OH | 54.1 | #492 | 92.2% | 0.9 | 20.2 |
All states, ranked
| State | Median score | Counties scored | Pre-2000 homes | Severe hail days / yr | Permits / 1,000 homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 71.8 | 82 | 88% | 2.8 | 23.3 |
| Montana | 65.6 | 19 | 86% | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| Nebraska | 64.2 | 65 | 88% | 2.7 | 38.3 |
| North Dakota | 60.7 | 35 | 84% | 2.5 | 32.8 |
| Illinois | 59.1 | 46 | 86% | 1.8 | 23.6 |
| Oklahoma | 59.1 | 68 | 79% | 2.5 | 14.5 |
| Colorado | 57.8 | 26 | 80% | 4.2 | 52.4 |
| Iowa | 55.8 | 67 | 87% | 1.8 | 29.3 |
| New York | 54.8 | 7 | 88% | 1.5 | 22.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 54.4 | 23 | 89% | 1.4 | 24.3 |
| Wyoming | 54.2 | 12 | 75% | 4.3 | 42.6 |
| New Mexico | 53.0 | 12 | 78% | 2.6 | 37.3 |
| Missouri | 52.6 | 69 | 77% | 2.1 | 17.7 |
| Texas | 52.3 | 149 | 75% | 2.5 | 24.9 |
| Massachusetts | 50.5 | 4 | 86% | 1.3 | 26.3 |
| Ohio | 48.0 | 23 | 84% | 1.2 | 23.2 |
| New Hampshire | 47.3 | 6 | 81% | 2.3 | 51.6 |
| South Dakota | 46.4 | 41 | 82% | 2.5 | 64.6 |
| Arkansas | 46.2 | 32 | 76% | 1.8 | 15.5 |
| Maryland | 46.2 | 4 | 80% | 1.9 | 39.3 |
| Minnesota | 44.6 | 62 | 80% | 1.9 | 49.0 |
| Michigan | 44.0 | 9 | 87% | 1.3 | 38.8 |
| Mississippi | 43.1 | 19 | 75% | 2.0 | 17.3 |
| West Virginia | 42.6 | 6 | 75% | 1.5 | 21.1 |
| Alabama | 42.2 | 21 | 78% | 1.6 | 29.5 |
| New Jersey | 40.3 | 7 | 84% | 1.3 | 47.2 |
| Kentucky | 35.1 | 10 | 75% | 1.5 | 34.6 |
| Virginia | 34.8 | 11 | 74% | 1.9 | 57.8 |
| Indiana | 34.4 | 23 | 82% | 1.4 | 52.8 |
| Wisconsin | 33.7 | 52 | 79% | 1.4 | 61.2 |
| Louisiana | 32.2 | 13 | 73% | 1.8 | 49.8 |
| Arizona | 31.9 | 7 | 65% | 2.3 | 121.8 |
| North Carolina | 28.5 | 22 | 74% | 1.7 | 88.6 |
| Georgia | 23.9 | 5 | 68% | 1.4 | 78.3 |
| Florida | 21.3 | 15 | 72% | 1.5 | 107.5 |
| South Carolina | 20.8 | 17 | 66% | 1.6 | 169.4 |
| Tennessee | 19.5 | 17 | 68% | 1.6 | 148.7 |
The typical scored county has 80% of homes built before 2000, 2.0 severe hail days a year and 35.5 new-home permits per 1,000 homes. States with fewer than three scored counties are left off. How it works and how stable it is: method. Related: hail history by county, roof age by city, hail check by address.