By StartBusinessByStatePublisher: Robert SmithResearch process
Original research · OpenFEMA Public Assistance + Individual Assistance (IHP) dollars · Declaration window 2016-01-01 through 2026-09-15 · Pull date September 16, 2026 · Distinct from declaration counts
Beyond declaration counts, OpenFEMA shows about $71.6B in hazard (ex-Biological) Public Assistance obligations and approved Individual Assistance IHP amounts across the 50 states and D.C. in this window — led by Florida ($16.1B). Raw all-program PA is much larger ($152.1B) because Biological/COVID-era obligations are about 64% of PA dollars. This is recovery/risk context for local service firms — not a best-state ranking, and not a claim that disaster dollars equal cleaning or HVAC contractor revenue. Obligated/approved federal program dollars are not invoices paid to small businesses.
Dollars only start flowing after a declaration. See how long FEMA takes to declare a disaster.
Key findings
- Dollars are not declaration counts. Our sibling disaster declarations by state page ranks high-count states. On hazard dollars, the largest combined totals are Florida, Louisiana, Texas, California, and North Carolina.
- Use the ex-Biological view for storm/fire/flood context. Biological incident-type PA is $97.4B of $152.1B all-program PA (~64%). Hazard PA is $54.6B; hazard IA (approved IHP) is $17.0B.
- Hazard PA is concentrated in a few incident types. Hurricane ~49% of hazard PA; flood ~9%; wildfire + fire ~11% (OpenFEMA labels).
- Per-capita highlights smaller recovery geographies. Louisiana leads hazard combined dollars per ACS 2023 resident at $2,375 — a context metric that amplifies small populations, not a “best state” score.
- PA and IA track each other on the hazard view (Pearson r ≈ 0.87), but they fund different recipients: public applicants vs households. Neither series measures local contractor billings.
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All-program totals vs hazard (ex-Biological)
| View | PA federal obligated | IA approved IHP | Combined | Combined per capita |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All incident types | $152,059,921,272 | $20,253,059,442 | $172,312,980,714 | $514 |
| Ex-Biological (hazard) | $54,642,488,139 | $16,998,375,184 | $71,640,863,322 | $214 |
| Biological only | $97,417,433,133 | $3,254,684,259 | $100,672,117,392 | — |
How to read this: Public Assistance federalObligatedAmount is federal grant funding available to the state grantee for approved project worksheets — typically for public infrastructure and eligible applicants, not payments to private cleaning or HVAC shops. Individual Assistance figures sum totalApprovedIhpAmount for housing owners and renters (IHP). “Combined” is a convenience total across dissimilar programs.
| State | PA ex-Bio | IA ex-Bio | Combined | Per capita | Top PA hazard type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $11.8B | $4.3B | $16.1B | $712 | Hurricane |
| Louisiana | $8.3B | $2.6B | $10.9B | $2,375 | Hurricane |
| Texas | $4.6B | $3.5B | $8.1B | $266 | Hurricane |
| California | $5.9B | $0.5B | $6.4B | $165 | Wildfire |
| North Carolina | $3.9B | $0.8B | $4.7B | $436 | Tropical Storm |
| Georgia | $2.2B | $0.5B | $2.7B | $245 | Hurricane |
| New York | $2.1B | $0.2B | $2.3B | $119 | Tropical Storm |
| Kentucky | $1.3B | $0.3B | $1.6B | $354 | Severe Storm(s) |
| Tennessee | $1.3B | $0.2B | $1.5B | $212 | Tropical Storm |
| South Carolina | $1.0B | $0.4B | $1.5B | $271 | Hurricane |
Charts
Hazard Public Assistance by incident type
For contractors preparing to deliver recovery work, start with the buyer’s insurance and certificate requirements. In Florida, the leading state in this comparison, our Florida business financing guide covers routes for equipment and operating cash.
| Incident type | Federal obligated | Share of hazard PA |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | $26,641,978,429 | 48.8% |
| Severe Storm(s) | $7,027,429,686 | 12.9% |
| Tropical Storm | $6,284,890,017 | 11.5% |
| Wildfire | $5,611,687,620 | 10.3% |
| Flood | $4,879,116,786 | 8.9% |
| Winter Storm | $1,381,882,707 | 2.5% |
| Other | $988,700,069 | 1.8% |
| Tornado | $572,315,483 | 1.0% |
| Fire | $491,153,167 | 0.9% |
| Snow | $301,253,248 | 0.6% |
Incident types that matter most to restoration, tree, roofing, and debris-adjacent trades — hurricane, flood, severe storm, wildfire/fire, winter/ice — dominate the hazard PA mix. That still does not prove local firms captured those dollars.
State table
Default sort is hazard combined dollars (ex-Biological). Columns also show all-program PA and combined totals so readers can see the Biological overlay.
| State | PA ex-Bio | IA ex-Bio | Hazard combined | Hazard $/capita | Top PA hazard type | All-program PA | All-program combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $11,752,721,878 | $4,343,199,008 | $16,095,920,886 | $712 | Hurricane | $16,656,824,519 | $21,181,524,303 |
| Louisiana | $8,293,767,886 | $2,569,930,584 | $10,863,698,470 | $2,375 | Hurricane | $10,590,148,759 | $13,217,163,865 |
| Texas | $4,604,507,025 | $3,497,242,590 | $8,101,749,616 | $266 | Hurricane | $18,980,336,710 | $22,757,003,964 |
| California | $5,943,319,231 | $478,866,817 | $6,422,186,048 | $165 | Wildfire | $20,610,572,942 | $21,338,890,807 |
| North Carolina | $3,919,148,459 | $806,264,449 | $4,725,412,907 | $436 | Tropical Storm | $5,988,074,609 | $6,903,315,521 |
| Georgia | $2,249,279,033 | $453,619,766 | $2,702,898,799 | $245 | Hurricane | $3,449,467,340 | $4,034,843,235 |
| New York | $2,106,526,154 | $225,764,206 | $2,332,290,360 | $119 | Tropical Storm | $19,446,057,921 | $19,929,422,384 |
| Kentucky | $1,342,882,783 | $261,346,393 | $1,604,229,175 | $354 | Severe Storm(s) | $1,632,790,045 | $1,968,265,442 |
| Tennessee | $1,322,644,424 | $185,953,617 | $1,508,598,040 | $212 | Tropical Storm | $1,882,984,599 | $2,171,573,736 |
| South Carolina | $1,047,285,638 | $407,448,577 | $1,454,734,215 | $271 | Hurricane | $1,877,707,803 | $2,360,630,584 |
| Hawaii | $935,409,340 | $126,912,605 | $1,062,321,945 | $740 | Wildfire | $1,247,874,755 | $1,378,335,665 |
| Mississippi | $658,887,326 | $398,504,622 | $1,057,391,948 | $360 | Winter Storm | $980,607,953 | $1,432,801,717 |
| Michigan | $162,206,595 | $715,989,389 | $878,195,984 | $87 | Winter Storm | $1,857,901,928 | $2,692,469,258 |
| New Mexico | $822,271,717 | $48,803,271 | $871,074,988 | $412 | Wildfire | $1,413,289,361 | $1,478,877,403 |
| Oregon | $803,691,252 | $41,269,461 | $844,960,713 | $200 | Wildfire | $2,784,070,763 | $2,835,884,445 |
| Nebraska | $769,109,615 | $28,281,632 | $797,391,247 | $403 | Severe Storm(s) | $1,075,568,285 | $1,120,590,323 |
| New Jersey | $541,898,534 | $255,438,528 | $797,337,063 | $86 | Tropical Storm | $3,779,273,477 | $4,149,910,040 |
| West Virginia | $612,770,983 | $132,784,895 | $745,555,878 | $421 | Flood | $819,488,164 | $981,671,465 |
| Iowa | $639,108,782 | $101,237,436 | $740,346,219 | $231 | Severe Storm(s) | $1,181,989,961 | $1,315,482,076 |
| Illinois | $91,427,038 | $629,831,449 | $721,258,487 | $57 | Severe Storm(s) | $2,265,995,676 | $3,030,321,399 |
| Oklahoma | $660,614,035 | $50,097,588 | $710,711,623 | $175 | Severe Storm(s) | $975,615,329 | $1,074,198,983 |
| Alabama | $550,864,752 | $143,167,554 | $694,032,306 | $136 | Hurricane | $657,448,620 | $875,008,642 |
| Missouri | $531,133,541 | $156,077,376 | $687,210,917 | $111 | Severe Storm(s) | $1,738,493,834 | $1,964,227,294 |
| Virginia | $467,141,718 | $29,350,497 | $496,492,215 | $57 | Winter Storm | $1,653,426,744 | $1,758,023,582 |
| Vermont | $440,926,794 | $42,689,111 | $483,615,905 | $747 | Severe Storm(s) | $900,113,290 | $944,355,208 |
| Alaska | $378,390,095 | $104,871,109 | $483,261,204 | $659 | Earthquake | $849,240,196 | $955,943,560 |
| Pennsylvania | $301,011,396 | $136,614,960 | $437,626,357 | $34 | Hurricane | $2,650,144,035 | $2,961,326,574 |
| Wisconsin | $102,532,585 | $296,048,140 | $398,580,725 | $67 | Flood | $972,458,158 | $1,326,125,681 |
| Arkansas | $327,108,429 | $62,036,536 | $389,144,965 | $127 | Severe Storm(s) | $574,385,792 | $670,155,706 |
| Washington | $342,020,922 | $28,330,960 | $370,351,882 | $47 | Severe Storm(s) | $3,325,297,853 | $3,373,693,509 |
| Kansas | $254,984,372 | $0 | $254,984,372 | $87 | Severe Storm(s) | $779,453,404 | $809,362,388 |
| Minnesota | $206,152,702 | $19,772,629 | $225,925,331 | $39 | Flood | $758,191,070 | $815,321,660 |
| South Dakota | $170,371,887 | $20,965,812 | $191,337,699 | $208 | Other | $208,511,018 | $239,492,703 |
| Maine | $145,148,067 | $12,109,615 | $157,257,682 | $113 | Severe Storm(s) | $731,818,075 | $750,212,853 |
| North Dakota | $146,382,756 | $0 | $146,382,756 | $187 | Severe Storm(s) | $361,897,329 | $372,814,565 |
| Ohio | $137,407,468 | $8,826,376 | $146,233,844 | $12 | Flood | $1,177,476,273 | $1,337,570,251 |
| Indiana | $33,584,167 | $89,364,731 | $122,948,898 | $18 | Tornado | $313,356,949 | $480,124,655 |
| Connecticut | $96,594,906 | $24,560,497 | $121,155,403 | $33 | Tropical Storm | $1,160,057,106 | $1,220,293,467 |
| Maryland | $117,366,025 | $0 | $117,366,025 | $19 | Snow | $3,383,770,270 | $3,438,882,849 |
| Colorado | $105,633,014 | $2,134,407 | $107,767,420 | $18 | Wildfire | $1,959,623,540 | $1,985,628,988 |
| Montana | $79,727,335 | $27,436,335 | $107,163,670 | $95 | Severe Storm(s) | $164,229,692 | $198,814,200 |
| Massachusetts | $97,508,349 | $7,670,256 | $105,178,605 | $15 | Winter Storm | $3,588,407,703 | $3,666,568,862 |
| New Hampshire | $100,200,966 | $0 | $100,200,966 | $71 | Severe Storm(s) | $424,766,835 | $431,230,910 |
| Idaho | $65,044,655 | $0 | $65,044,655 | $33 | Severe Storm(s) | $290,645,559 | $301,262,488 |
| Utah | $54,145,769 | $1,089,135 | $55,234,904 | $16 | Earthquake | $499,884,462 | $517,005,542 |
| Rhode Island | $13,661,449 | $22,746,162 | $36,407,611 | $33 | Winter Storm | $868,909,719 | $903,622,414 |
| Nevada | $31,329,952 | $0 | $31,329,952 | $10 | Severe Storm(s) | $147,050,692 | $170,659,384 |
| District of Columbia | $23,211,845 | $0 | $23,211,845 | $34 | Snow | $1,097,553,297 | $1,104,157,449 |
| Arizona | $14,705,672 | $3,726,105 | $18,431,777 | $2 | Flood | $944,663,278 | $992,019,686 |
| Wyoming | $16,925,843 | $0 | $16,925,843 | $29 | Wildfire | $96,693,535 | $100,766,107 |
| Delaware | $11,792,975 | $0 | $11,792,975 | $11 | Hurricane | $285,312,049 | $295,132,923 |
Related research on this site
- Disaster declarations by state — OpenFEMA counts (DR/EM/FM), not dollars.
- HVAC industry statistics · Landscaping industry statistics · Cleaning business revenue by state — market size context (not FEMA awards).
- Landscaping seasonal employment · Home prices vs home-services employment — hiring/timing research.
- Guides: start a cleaning business, start an HVAC business, start a landscaping business.
- Flood insurance: the NFIP deadline by state — policies that renew right after the Dec. 11, 2026 authorization deadline.
- flood claims paid to businesses: NFIP non-residential claims by state.
Your next step: review tree-service insurance and crew coverage
Methods and limitations
Data sources and window
Public Assistance: OpenFEMA Public Assistance Funded Project Summaries v1. Sum of federalObligatedAmount where declarationDate is on/after 2016-01-01 and before 2026-09-16. Geography limited to 50 states + D.C. (territories excluded from the table).
Individual Assistance: OpenFEMA Housing Assistance owners + renters v2. Sum of totalApprovedIhpAmount for rows whose disasterNumber has an earliest declaration date in the same window (via Disaster Declarations Summaries v2). IHP housing assistance only.
Ex-Biological view: drop rows / disasters with incidentType == Biological. Primary charts use this view because Biological PA is ~64% of all-program PA in the window.
Population: Census ACS 1-year 2023 total population (B01001_001E) for per-capita columns.
Reproducibility: Florida PA CSV sum matched the live OpenFEMA API filter sum exactly ($0.00 delta; 4,114 rows) on 2026-09-16.
Limitations
- Obligated ≠ paid to small businesses. PA dollars are federal obligations for eligible public (and certain nonprofit) applicants.
- Approved IHP ≠ contractor revenue; IA assists households. Approval and disbursement timing can differ.
- Combined PA+IA spans dissimilar programs and recipients.
- Declaration counts are a different object — see the sibling declarations page.
- Per-capita uses 2023 ACS population, not a mid-window average.
- OpenFEMA fields can differ from audited financial statements; datasets refresh — this page is a fixed pull.
- No causal claim that higher disaster dollars create more local cleaning, HVAC, or landscaping work.
Download
Download CSV — disaster dollars by state (2016–2026-09-15). Columns include all-program and ex-Biological PA/IA, per-capita figures, top hazard incident type, and ranks.
Primary sources: OpenFEMA PA Funded Project Summaries, Housing Assistance Owners, Housing Assistance Renters, Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Dataset license and reuse
Reuse terms, version September 27, 2026. You may quote our original findings and summary statistics with credit to StartBusinessByState.com and a link to this page. Keep the source names, data years, units and relevant limitations with quoted figures.
This permission covers our original contributions to this dataset. It does not relicense underlying source data or grant blanket permission to redistribute third-party datasets. Source data retains its provider’s terms, and public-domain material remains public domain. Any additional reuse permissions stated elsewhere on this page still apply. For other reuse of our original material, contact us.