What does a GCHS of 87.8/100 mean for Essex County?

A GCHS of 87.8/100 places Essex County in the "Very High" band. Counties in this band typically face elevated natural hazard losses and may have restricted insurance availability or higher premiums for hazard-specific coverage. Key risk drivers include the county's Expected Annual Loss rank (91.7/100) and Social Vulnerability rank (93.9/100).

Which natural hazards most affect Essex County?

The GCHS is computed from FEMA's Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score, which aggregates 18 natural hazard types: hurricanes, riverine flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, hail, drought, winter weather, lightning, strong wind, coastal flooding, cold wave, heat wave, ice storm, landslide, avalanche, tsunami and volcanic activity. Essex County's EAL rank is 91.7/100 — very high, suggesting substantial exposure to one or more of these hazards.

What is the FEMA National Risk Index?

The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) is a publicly available dataset produced by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency that measures the risk of natural hazards for every US county and census tract. It combines 18 natural hazard types, community social vulnerability and community resilience into a single expected-loss-based risk score. Gera computes the GCHS from the NRI's county-level EAL, SOVI and RESL percentile scores using a documented formula.

How does Essex County compare to the national average?

The national mean GCHS across the 480 most-populous US counties is 66.1/100. Essex County scores 87.8/100, which is 21.7 points above the national mean. FEMA's own risk rating for this county is "Relatively Moderate".

GeraSure / County Hazard Risk / Essex, NJ

Essex County, New Jersey: Natural Hazard Risk

Gera County Hazard Score: 87.8/100 (Very High) · FEMA Rating: Relatively Moderate · Population: 863,448. Based on FEMA National Risk Index (November 2023).

Reference period: November 2023· FEMA National Risk Index · US Government public domain · FIPS 34013

What is the natural hazard risk for Essex County, New Jersey?

Essex County, New Jersey has a Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS) of 87.8/100 (Very High), based on FEMA National Risk Index November 2023 data. Its Expected Annual Loss rank is 91.7/100, social vulnerability rank 93.9/100 and community resilience rank 31.3/100, covering a population of 863,448.

Source:FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) — Harvard Dataverse·as of November 2023updated annually (last: 20 June 2026)

Gera County Hazard Score87.8 / 100Very High hazard level — Essex County, New Jersey (November 2023 FEMA NRI)How this index is calculated

GCHS components — Essex County (November 2023)

Gera County Hazard Score components — Essex County, New Jersey (FEMA NRI November 2023)
Component	Score / 100	GCHS Weight	Contribution	What it measures
Expected Annual Loss (EAL)	91.7	50%	45.9	Estimated annual losses from 18 natural hazards
Social Vulnerability (SOVI)	93.9	30%	28.2	Community factors affecting disaster response capacity
Lack of Resilience (100 − RESL)	69	20%	13.7	Resilience score 31.3/100 → inverted so higher = more hazard
Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS)	87.8	100%	87.8	Very High — composite index

GCHS = 0.50 × 91.7 + 0.30 × 93.9 + 0.20 × (100 − 31.3) = 87.8. All inputs are FEMA NRI percentile ranks 0–100.

Essex County Hazard Checker

Explore what the GCHS means for insurance and disaster preparedness in this county.

Gera County Hazard Score (GCHS)

87.8/ 100Very High

What this means for insurance

Counties with a Very High GCHS typically see elevated home insurance premiums and may have limited coverage availability for specific hazard types. Comparing quotes is especially important here.

GCHS is computed by Gera from FEMA NRI data. It is a risk-context index — not an insurance premium quote. Actual premiums depend on your specific property and chosen coverage.

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Essex County hazard risk: frequently asked questions

What does a GCHS of 87.8/100 mean for Essex County?: A GCHS of 87.8/100 places Essex County in the "Very High" band. Counties in this band typically face elevated natural hazard losses and may have restricted insurance availability or higher premiums for hazard-specific coverage. Key risk drivers include the county's Expected Annual Loss rank (91.7/100) and Social Vulnerability rank (93.9/100).
Which natural hazards most affect Essex County?: The GCHS is computed from FEMA's Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score, which aggregates 18 natural hazard types: hurricanes, riverine flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, hail, drought, winter weather, lightning, strong wind, coastal flooding, cold wave, heat wave, ice storm, landslide, avalanche, tsunami and volcanic activity. Essex County's EAL rank is 91.7/100 — very high, suggesting substantial exposure to one or more of these hazards.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index?: The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) is a publicly available dataset produced by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency that measures the risk of natural hazards for every US county and census tract. It combines 18 natural hazard types, community social vulnerability and community resilience into a single expected-loss-based risk score. Gera computes the GCHS from the NRI's county-level EAL, SOVI and RESL percentile scores using a documented formula.
How does Essex County compare to the national average?: The national mean GCHS across the 480 most-populous US counties is 66.1/100. Essex County scores 87.8/100, which is 21.7 points above the national mean. FEMA's own risk rating for this county is "Relatively Moderate".

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Contains public sector information published by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and licensed under the US Government open data, public domain. Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) — Harvard Dataverse (November 2023, published 2024).

Full GCHS formula and verification: Gera County Hazard Score methodology.