Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation

San Juan County had the highest annual precipitation of 64 counties in 2016, at 35.9 inches. Alamosa County had the lowest, at 11.15 inches. The median was 16.66 inches and the figure for Colorado was 17.08 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest35.9San Juan County
Lowest11.15Alamosa County
Median16.6664 counties
Colorado17.08History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 14.89 inchesAlamosa County: 11.15 inchesArapahoe County: 15.54 inchesArchuleta County: 20.92 inchesBaca County: 14.52 inchesBent County: 13.63 inchesBoulder County: 17.78 inchesBroomfield County: 12.22 inchesChaffee County: 15.1 inchesCheyenne County: 13.78 inchesClear Creek County: 24.34 inchesConejos County: 16.44 inchesCostilla County: 16.96 inchesCrowley County: 13.1 inchesCuster County: 17.96 inchesDelta County: 16.55 inchesDenver County: 12.26 inchesDolores County: 21.37 inchesDouglas County: 15.56 inchesEagle County: 21.92 inchesElbert County: 15.42 inchesEl Paso County: 15.11 inchesFremont County: 12.88 inchesGarfield County: 20.72 inchesGilpin County: 21 inchesGrand County: 21.16 inchesGunnison County: 20.66 inchesHinsdale County: 26.54 inchesHuerfano County: 15.62 inchesJackson County: 23.02 inchesJefferson County: 15.74 inchesKiowa County: 14.07 inchesKit Carson County: 16.56 inchesLake County: 23.36 inchesLa Plata County: 21.32 inchesLarimer County: 18 inchesLas Animas County: 14.53 inchesLincoln County: 12.07 inchesLogan County: 15.27 inchesMesa County: 16.76 inchesMineral County: 24.31 inchesMoffat County: 16.12 inchesMontezuma County: 16.76 inchesMontrose County: 13.08 inchesMorgan County: 18.29 inchesOtero County: 14.33 inchesOuray County: 20.13 inchesPark County: 16.04 inchesPhillips County: 18.03 inchesPitkin County: 27.6 inchesProwers County: 14.88 inchesPueblo County: 13 inchesRio Blanco County: 18.38 inchesRio Grande County: 13.63 inchesRoutt County: 24.33 inchesSaguache County: 15.12 inchesSan Juan County: 35.9 inchesSan Miguel County: 17.47 inchesSedgwick County: 17.57 inchesSummit County: 24.84 inchesTeller County: 18.43 inchesWashington County: 16.87 inchesWeld County: 13.85 inchesYuma County: 17.5 inches
  • Under 14
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  • 21 and over
inches, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

San Juan County: 35.9 inchesSan Juan County35.9Pitkin County: 27.6 inchesPitkin County27.6Hinsdale County: 26.54 inchesHinsdale County26.54Summit County: 24.84 inchesSummit County24.84Clear Creek County: 24.34 inchesClear Creek County24.34Routt County: 24.33 inchesRoutt County24.33Mineral County: 24.31 inchesMineral County24.31Lake County: 23.36 inchesLake County23.36Jackson County: 23.02 inchesJackson County23.02Eagle County: 21.92 inchesEagle County21.92Dolores County: 21.37 inchesDolores County21.37La Plata County: 21.32 inchesLa Plata County21.32Grand County: 21.16 inchesGrand County21.16Gilpin County: 21 inchesGilpin County21Archuleta County: 20.92 inchesArchuleta County20.92Garfield County: 20.72 inchesGarfield County20.72Gunnison County: 20.66 inchesGunnison County20.66Ouray County: 20.13 inchesOuray County20.13Teller County: 18.43 inchesTeller County18.43Rio Blanco County: 18.38 inchesRio Blanco County18.38Morgan County: 18.29 inchesMorgan County18.29Phillips County: 18.03 inchesPhillips County18.03Larimer County: 18 inchesLarimer County18Custer County: 17.96 inchesCuster County17.96Boulder County: 17.78 inchesBoulder County17.78Sedgwick County: 17.57 inchesSedgwick County17.57Yuma County: 17.5 inchesYuma County17.5San Miguel County: 17.47 inchesSan Miguel County17.47Costilla County: 16.96 inchesCostilla County16.96Washington County: 16.87 inchesWashington County16.87Mesa County: 16.76 inchesMesa County16.76Montezuma County: 16.76 inchesMontezuma County16.76Kit Carson County: 16.56 inchesKit Carson County16.56Delta County: 16.55 inchesDelta County16.55Conejos County: 16.44 inchesConejos County16.44Moffat County: 16.12 inchesMoffat County16.12Park County: 16.04 inchesPark County16.04Jefferson County: 15.74 inchesJefferson County15.74Huerfano County: 15.62 inchesHuerfano County15.62Douglas County: 15.56 inchesDouglas County15.56San Juan County: 35.9 inchesSan Juan County35.9Pitkin County: 27.6 inchesPitkin County27.6Hinsdale County: 26.54 inchesHinsdale County26.54Summit County: 24.84 inchesSummit County24.84Clear Creek County: 24.34 inchesClear Creek County24.34Routt County: 24.33 inchesRoutt County24.33Mineral County: 24.31 inchesMineral County24.31Lake County: 23.36 inchesLake County23.36Jackson County: 23.02 inchesJackson County23.02Eagle County: 21.92 inchesEagle County21.92Dolores County: 21.37 inchesDolores County21.37La Plata County: 21.32 inchesLa Plata County21.32Grand County: 21.16 inchesGrand County21.16Gilpin County: 21 inchesGilpin County21Archuleta County: 20.92 inchesArchuleta County20.92Garfield County: 20.72 inchesGarfield County20.72Gunnison County: 20.66 inchesGunnison County20.66Ouray County: 20.13 inchesOuray County20.13Teller County: 18.43 inchesTeller County18.43Rio Blanco County: 18.38 inchesRio Blanco County18.38Morgan County: 18.29 inchesMorgan County18.29Phillips County: 18.03 inchesPhillips County18.03Larimer County: 18 inchesLarimer County18Custer County: 17.96 inchesCuster County17.96Boulder County: 17.78 inchesBoulder County17.78Sedgwick County: 17.57 inchesSedgwick County17.57Yuma County: 17.5 inchesYuma County17.5San Miguel County: 17.47 inchesSan Miguel County17.47Costilla County: 16.96 inchesCostilla County16.96Washington County: 16.87 inchesWashington County16.87Mesa County: 16.76 inchesMesa County16.76Montezuma County: 16.76 inchesMontezuma County16.76Kit Carson County: 16.56 inchesKit Carson County16.56Delta County: 16.55 inchesDelta County16.55Conejos County: 16.44 inchesConejos County16.44Moffat County: 16.12 inchesMoffat County16.12Park County: 16.04 inchesPark County16.04Jefferson County: 15.74 inchesJefferson County15.74Huerfano County: 15.62 inchesHuerfano County15.62Douglas County: 15.56 inchesDouglas County15.56
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
inches
Change on 2015
1San Juan County35.9-17.5%
2Pitkin County27.6-3.8%
3Hinsdale County26.54-16%
4Summit County24.84-3%
5Clear Creek County24.34-21.8%
6Routt County24.33+1.9%
7Mineral County24.31-21.6%
8Lake County23.36-6.7%
9Jackson County23.02-0.9%
10Eagle County21.92-2.6%
11Dolores County21.37-21.5%
12La Plata County21.32-19.6%
13Grand County21.16-1.9%
14Gilpin County21-23.3%
15Archuleta County20.92-22.2%
16Garfield County20.72-16.6%
17Gunnison County20.66-11.4%
18Ouray County20.13-16.8%
19Teller County18.43-34.2%
20Rio Blanco County18.38-10.7%
21Morgan County18.29-18.5%
22Phillips County18.03-8.2%
23Larimer County18-25.6%
24Custer County17.96-28.1%
25Boulder County17.78-28.1%
26Sedgwick County17.57-15.4%
27Yuma County17.5-14.4%
28San Miguel County17.47-18.7%
29Costilla County16.96-8.3%
30Washington County16.87-13.4%
31Mesa County16.76-23.9%
31Montezuma County16.76-21.8%
33Kit Carson County16.56-29.4%
34Delta County16.55-24.2%
35Conejos County16.44-18.3%
36Moffat County16.12-2.1%
37Park County16.04-28.7%
38Jefferson County15.74-38.6%
39Huerfano County15.62-29%
40Douglas County15.56-43.3%
41Arapahoe County15.54-34.9%
42Elbert County15.42-39.6%
43Logan County15.27-25%
44Saguache County15.12-17.7%
45El Paso County15.11-37.2%
46Chaffee County15.1-26.2%
47Adams County14.89-35.1%
48Prowers County14.88-35.7%
49Las Animas County14.53-28.1%
50Baca County14.52-30.9%
51Otero County14.33-9.1%
52Kiowa County14.07-26.3%
53Weld County13.85-31.1%
54Cheyenne County13.78-31.2%
55Bent County13.63-27.2%
55Rio Grande County13.63-17.5%
57Crowley County13.1-1.7%
58Montrose County13.08-29.8%
59Pueblo County13-27.2%
60Fremont County12.88-32.5%
61Denver County12.26-44.8%
62Broomfield County12.22-45%
63Lincoln County12.07-39.6%
64Alamosa County11.15-14%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_colorado_by_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

San Juan County, with 35.9 inches in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Alamosa County, with 11.15 inches in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings