Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation

San Juan County had the highest annual precipitation of 64 counties in 2018, at 27.13 inches. Alamosa County had the lowest, at 7.91 inches. The median was 14.43 inches and the figure for Colorado was 14.96 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest27.13San Juan County
Lowest7.91Alamosa County
Median14.4364 counties
Colorado14.96History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 12.29 inchesAlamosa County: 7.91 inchesArapahoe County: 12.83 inchesArchuleta County: 14.75 inchesBaca County: 18.65 inchesBent County: 13.21 inchesBoulder County: 17.38 inchesBroomfield County: 12.54 inchesChaffee County: 11.48 inchesCheyenne County: 14.46 inchesClear Creek County: 20.9 inchesConejos County: 13.09 inchesCostilla County: 12.42 inchesCrowley County: 10.39 inchesCuster County: 13.38 inchesDelta County: 13.27 inchesDenver County: 11.49 inchesDolores County: 14.54 inchesDouglas County: 14.71 inchesEagle County: 19.39 inchesElbert County: 14.43 inchesEl Paso County: 14.27 inchesFremont County: 10.77 inchesGarfield County: 19.17 inchesGilpin County: 18.56 inchesGrand County: 18.8 inchesGunnison County: 16.27 inchesHinsdale County: 20.57 inchesHuerfano County: 13.05 inchesJackson County: 19.86 inchesJefferson County: 14.42 inchesKiowa County: 13.87 inchesKit Carson County: 17.11 inchesLake County: 20.59 inchesLa Plata County: 13.76 inchesLarimer County: 18.14 inchesLas Animas County: 14.04 inchesLincoln County: 12.08 inchesLogan County: 16.98 inchesMesa County: 13.91 inchesMineral County: 18.91 inchesMoffat County: 12.28 inchesMontezuma County: 11.43 inchesMontrose County: 10.24 inchesMorgan County: 14.05 inchesOtero County: 11.41 inchesOuray County: 15.01 inchesPark County: 13.26 inchesPhillips County: 17.14 inchesPitkin County: 23.61 inchesProwers County: 16.95 inchesPueblo County: 10.08 inchesRio Blanco County: 16.5 inchesRio Grande County: 10.56 inchesRoutt County: 21.01 inchesSaguache County: 11.41 inchesSan Juan County: 27.13 inchesSan Miguel County: 11.93 inchesSedgwick County: 22.12 inchesSummit County: 21.64 inchesTeller County: 15.53 inchesWashington County: 17.27 inchesWeld County: 12.11 inchesYuma County: 19.39 inches
  • Under 12
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  • 19 and over
inches, 2018. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

San Juan County: 27.13 inchesSan Juan County27.13Pitkin County: 23.61 inchesPitkin County23.61Sedgwick County: 22.12 inchesSedgwick County22.12Summit County: 21.64 inchesSummit County21.64Routt County: 21.01 inchesRoutt County21.01Clear Creek County: 20.9 inchesClear Creek County20.9Lake County: 20.59 inchesLake County20.59Hinsdale County: 20.57 inchesHinsdale County20.57Jackson County: 19.86 inchesJackson County19.86Eagle County: 19.39 inchesEagle County19.39Yuma County: 19.39 inchesYuma County19.39Garfield County: 19.17 inchesGarfield County19.17Mineral County: 18.91 inchesMineral County18.91Grand County: 18.8 inchesGrand County18.8Baca County: 18.65 inchesBaca County18.65Gilpin County: 18.56 inchesGilpin County18.56Larimer County: 18.14 inchesLarimer County18.14Boulder County: 17.38 inchesBoulder County17.38Washington County: 17.27 inchesWashington County17.27Phillips County: 17.14 inchesPhillips County17.14Kit Carson County: 17.11 inchesKit Carson County17.11Logan County: 16.98 inchesLogan County16.98Prowers County: 16.95 inchesProwers County16.95Rio Blanco County: 16.5 inchesRio Blanco County16.5Gunnison County: 16.27 inchesGunnison County16.27Teller County: 15.53 inchesTeller County15.53Ouray County: 15.01 inchesOuray County15.01Archuleta County: 14.75 inchesArchuleta County14.75Douglas County: 14.71 inchesDouglas County14.71Dolores County: 14.54 inchesDolores County14.54Cheyenne County: 14.46 inchesCheyenne County14.46Elbert County: 14.43 inchesElbert County14.43Jefferson County: 14.42 inchesJefferson County14.42El Paso County: 14.27 inchesEl Paso County14.27Morgan County: 14.05 inchesMorgan County14.05Las Animas County: 14.04 inchesLas Animas County14.04Mesa County: 13.91 inchesMesa County13.91Kiowa County: 13.87 inchesKiowa County13.87La Plata County: 13.76 inchesLa Plata County13.76Custer County: 13.38 inchesCuster County13.38San Juan County: 27.13 inchesSan Juan County27.13Pitkin County: 23.61 inchesPitkin County23.61Sedgwick County: 22.12 inchesSedgwick County22.12Summit County: 21.64 inchesSummit County21.64Routt County: 21.01 inchesRoutt County21.01Clear Creek County: 20.9 inchesClear Creek County20.9Lake County: 20.59 inchesLake County20.59Hinsdale County: 20.57 inchesHinsdale County20.57Jackson County: 19.86 inchesJackson County19.86Eagle County: 19.39 inchesEagle County19.39Yuma County: 19.39 inchesYuma County19.39Garfield County: 19.17 inchesGarfield County19.17Mineral County: 18.91 inchesMineral County18.91Grand County: 18.8 inchesGrand County18.8Baca County: 18.65 inchesBaca County18.65Gilpin County: 18.56 inchesGilpin County18.56Larimer County: 18.14 inchesLarimer County18.14Boulder County: 17.38 inchesBoulder County17.38Washington County: 17.27 inchesWashington County17.27Phillips County: 17.14 inchesPhillips County17.14Kit Carson County: 17.11 inchesKit Carson County17.11Logan County: 16.98 inchesLogan County16.98Prowers County: 16.95 inchesProwers County16.95Rio Blanco County: 16.5 inchesRio Blanco County16.5Gunnison County: 16.27 inchesGunnison County16.27Teller County: 15.53 inchesTeller County15.53Ouray County: 15.01 inchesOuray County15.01Archuleta County: 14.75 inchesArchuleta County14.75Douglas County: 14.71 inchesDouglas County14.71Dolores County: 14.54 inchesDolores County14.54Cheyenne County: 14.46 inchesCheyenne County14.46Elbert County: 14.43 inchesElbert County14.43Jefferson County: 14.42 inchesJefferson County14.42El Paso County: 14.27 inchesEl Paso County14.27Morgan County: 14.05 inchesMorgan County14.05Las Animas County: 14.04 inchesLas Animas County14.04Mesa County: 13.91 inchesMesa County13.91Kiowa County: 13.87 inchesKiowa County13.87La Plata County: 13.76 inchesLa Plata County13.76Custer County: 13.38 inchesCuster County13.38
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
inches
Change on 2017
1San Juan County27.13-18.1%
2Pitkin County23.61-10.8%
3Sedgwick County22.12+23.4%
4Summit County21.64-21.2%
5Routt County21.01-9.9%
6Clear Creek County20.9-26.6%
7Lake County20.59-21%
8Hinsdale County20.57-19.6%
9Jackson County19.86-20.6%
10Eagle County19.39-11.1%
10Yuma County19.39-1.1%
12Garfield County19.17+16%
13Mineral County18.91-22.1%
14Grand County18.8-19.8%
15Baca County18.65-23.6%
16Gilpin County18.56-22%
17Larimer County18.14-21.8%
18Boulder County17.38-20.9%
19Washington County17.27+5.6%
20Phillips County17.14-7.9%
21Kit Carson County17.11-21.8%
22Logan County16.98+11.1%
23Prowers County16.95-25.1%
24Rio Blanco County16.5+2.7%
25Gunnison County16.27-26.2%
26Teller County15.53-21.3%
27Ouray County15.01-24.5%
28Archuleta County14.75-31.8%
29Douglas County14.71-15.8%
30Dolores County14.54-19%
31Cheyenne County14.46-28.8%
32Elbert County14.43-16.7%
33Jefferson County14.42-20.8%
34El Paso County14.27-24.4%
35Morgan County14.05+2.3%
36Las Animas County14.04-41.7%
37Mesa County13.91+20.5%
38Kiowa County13.87-33.6%
39La Plata County13.76-21.8%
40Custer County13.38-39.3%
41Delta County13.27+0.2%
42Park County13.26-26.7%
43Bent County13.21-38.2%
44Conejos County13.09-35%
45Huerfano County13.05-44.8%
46Arapahoe County12.83-10.7%
47Broomfield County12.54-20.2%
48Costilla County12.42-40.9%
49Adams County12.29-11.5%
50Moffat County12.28-15%
51Weld County12.11-19%
52Lincoln County12.08-31.3%
53San Miguel County11.93-15.7%
54Denver County11.49-18.3%
55Chaffee County11.48-35.4%
56Montezuma County11.43-17.7%
57Otero County11.41-48.8%
57Saguache County11.41-31.7%
59Fremont County10.77-31.4%
60Rio Grande County10.56-29.7%
61Crowley County10.39-45.7%
62Montrose County10.24-11.6%
63Pueblo County10.08-46.8%
64Alamosa County7.91-40.5%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_colorado_by_2018,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Colorado by annual precipitation, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/colorado-counties?period=2018.
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 27.13 inches in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Alamosa County, with 7.91 inches in 2018.

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