learnfema + cal fire mapspublic parcel records, october 2026boyenga team at compass
Flood and fire zones, neighborhood by neighborhood
For each of our 405 neighborhood guides, how many single-family homes sit in a FEMA high-risk flood zone and how many touch a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone, counted parcel by parcel from public records.
- neighborhoods405in 30 cities
- homes counted420,361single-family, parcel by parcel
- in a fema high-risk flood zone15,5105% of homes counted*
- touching a cal fire zone32,5468% of homes counted
every neighborhood
Every neighborhood, flood and fire side by side
Every guide with enough homes to count, sorted by its share of homes touching a fire zone. Sort any column, pick a city, search by name or show only neighborhoods with a zone. Each name opens its guide, and most guides show the same counts on their spec sheet.
| The table needs JavaScript; the city totals and top lists below show the same counts. | |||||||||
Homes = single-family houses where the records identify them, otherwise lots zoned or coded single-family (marked “lots”). Flood = a FEMA high-risk zone (A, AE, AH or AO) at the parcel’s center. Fire = any part of the lot inside a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone, counted once in its highest zone. — = not shown: San Francisco’s flood column (see the questions below). *The flood share in the header leaves San Francisco out.
by city
Each city, added up
The same counts added up for each city. Select a city to filter the table above.
| city | neighborhoods | homes | in flood zones | touching fire zones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atherton | 6 | 2,502 | 0 (0%) | 2 (under 1%) |
| Belmont | 9 | 6,634 | 99 (1%) | 1,597 (24%) |
| Burlingame | 8 | 6,312 | 252 (4%) | 886 (14%) |
| Cupertino | 10 | 6,819 | 36 (under 1%) | 986 (14%) |
| Daly City | 9 | 19,175 | 0 (0%) | 2,517 (13%) |
| East Palo Alto | 6 | 3,905 | 1,598 (41%) | none mapped |
| Foster City | 6 | 4,532 | 126 (3%) | none mapped |
| Gilroy | 7 | 12,431 | 110 (under 1%) | 2,924 (24%) |
| Hillsborough | 6 | 3,866 | 1 (under 1%) | 1,013 (26%) |
| Los Altos | 11 | 9,028 | 33 (under 1%) | 69 (under 1%) |
| Los Altos Hills | 8 | 2,990 | 41 (1%) | 1,588 (53%) |
| Los Gatos | 10 | 6,421 | 19 (under 1%) | 1,780 (28%) |
| Menlo Park | 11 | 7,600 | 1,021 (13%) | 0 (0%) |
| Millbrae | 5 | 5,370 | 182 (3%) | 2,379 (44%) |
| Milpitas | 9 | 11,216 | 2,077 (19%) | 746 (7%) |
| Monte Sereno | 4 | 1,118 | 1 (under 1%) | 155 (14%) |
| Mountain View | 10 | 6,401 | 28 (under 1%) | none mapped |
| Palo Alto | 22 | 13,269 | 4,115 (31%) | 0 (0%) |
| Portola Valley | 8 | 2,273 | 20 (under 1%) | 2,129 (94%) |
| Redwood City | 13 | 18,237 | 395 (2%) | 1,887 (10%) |
| San Bruno | 6 | 9,054 | 273 (3%) | 3,071 (34%) |
| San Carlos | 8 | 8,407 | 123 (1%) | 956 (11%) |
| San Francisco | 28 | 77,142 | — | 0 (0%) |
| San Jose | 108 | 104,381 | 3,808 (4%) | 2,924 (3%) |
| San Mateo | 14 | 19,096 | 199 (1%) | 1,447 (8%) |
| Santa Clara | 10 | 11,445 | 307 (3%) | none mapped |
| Saratoga | 12 | 9,626 | 43 (under 1%) | 1,418 (15%) |
| South San Francisco | 8 | 10,096 | 60 (under 1%) | 714 (7%) |
| Sunnyvale | 25 | 18,883 | 540 (3%) | none mapped |
| Woodside | 8 | 2,132 | 3 (under 1%) | 1,358 (64%) |
None mapped = CAL FIRE shows no fire hazard severity zone anywhere in that city’s guide areas (East Palo Alto, Foster City, Mountain View, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale). Totals cover our guide outlines only, not whole cities.
most exposed
Where the shares run highest
The neighborhoods with the highest shares of homes in each kind of zone, among guides with at least 100 homes counted.
FEMA high-risk flood zones
- Midtown & Main StreetMilpitas · 101 houses95%96 in zones
- The GardensEast Palo Alto · 967 lots94%909 in zones
- Crescent ParkPalo Alto · 1,184 houses85%1,010 in zones
- Milpitas Manor & CurtnerMilpitas · 1,266 houses85%1,073 in zones
- Duveneck / St. FrancisPalo Alto · 1,248 houses74%924 in zones
- Palo VerdePalo Alto · 831 houses68%568 in zones
- Adobe Meadow & Meadow ParkPalo Alto · 411 houses66%272 in zones
- Canoas Garden & Willow CreekSan Jose · 341 lots60%203 in zones
- The WillowsMenlo Park · 1,203 lots59%715 in zones
- Kavanaugh & NewbridgeEast Palo Alto · 560 lots51%284 in zones
- Downtown NorthPalo Alto · 142 houses48%68 in zones
- Almaden Lake & Sunrise AlmadenSan Jose · 600 lots46%277 in zones
CAL FIRE fire hazard zones
- Skywood, Portola Hills & SkylondaWoodside · 446 lots100%446 touching
- Arrowhead Meadows & StonegatePortola Valley · 289 houses100%289 touching
- WestridgePortola Valley · 275 houses100%275 touching
- Los Trancos Woods & Vista VerdePortola Valley · 252 lots · 119 very high100%252 touching
- Alpine HillsPortola Valley · 250 houses100%250 touching
- Mountain Home Road & Portola RoadWoodside · 230 lots100%230 touching
- Portola Valley Ranch & Blue OaksPortola Valley · 226 houses100%226 touching
- Woodside Highlands & HayfieldsPortola Valley · 166 houses100%166 touching
- Glenview Highlands & Millbrae MeadowsMillbrae · 1,256 lots · 618 very high100%1,254 touching
- Altamont, Taaffe & Moody RoadsLos Altos Hills · 411 houses · 111 very high99%405 touching
- Crestmoor & Shelter CreekSan Bruno · 1,535 houses · 863 very high98%1,510 touching
- Mora Drive & Olive TreeLos Altos Hills · 366 houses · 210 very high97%356 touching
how to read it
What the two maps mean
Flood zones (FEMA)
- High-risk means about 1% a yearFEMA’s A-type zones (A, AE, AH, AO) mark land with at least a 1% chance of flooding in any year, the “100-year” floodplain.
- Insurance follows the mapLenders require flood insurance on federally backed mortgages for buildings in these zones.
- Outside isn’t immuneHomes outside the zones can still flood, and FEMA revises its maps, so check the exact address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.
Fire hazard zones (CAL FIRE)
- Three levelsCAL FIRE rates land Moderate, High or Very High fire hazard, based on vegetation, terrain and weather.
- The land, not the houseThe zones describe the landscape around a home. A house’s construction and defensible space are separate questions for an inspector or an insurer.
- Part of the lot countsWe count a lot if any part of it is inside a zone, which can include a house whose back fence meets a hillside.
A zone count is a starting point, not a verdict. Flood and fire zones are among the hazards covered by the Natural Hazard Disclosure report California sellers typically provide, so ask for it early and get insurance quotes before you remove contingencies.
the method
How we counted
- Neighborhoods
- The outlines drawn for our neighborhood guides (approximate; neighboring outlines can overlap). Guides with fewer than 20 counted homes are left out.
- Homes
- Single-family houses from city or county assessor records where available, otherwise lots zoned or coded single-family (marked “lots”). Condos and townhomes are not counted.
- Flood
- FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, high-risk (special flood hazard area) zones at each parcel’s center, October 2026.
- Fire
- CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zones, October 2026: the 2025 map for local responsibility areas and the state responsibility area map. A lot counts in the highest zone touching any part of it.
- Sources by city
- Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, Daly City (unincorporated guides), East Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Menlo Park (unincorporated guides), Millbrae, Portola Valley (unincorporated guides), Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo (unincorporated guides) and Woodside: San Mateo County parcel layer (use codes as of June 2020); Cupertino: City of Cupertino parcel records; Daly City: City of Daly City parcel and zoning records; Foster City: City of Foster City parcel and zoning records; Gilroy: County assessor records (City of Gilroy layer); Los Altos: City of Los Altos parcel records; Los Altos Hills: County assessor records (fire district layer); Los Gatos and Monte Sereno: County assessor records (Town of Los Gatos layer); Menlo Park: City of Menlo Park parcel and zoning records; Milpitas: City of Milpitas parcel records; Mountain View: City of Mountain View parcel and zoning records; Palo Alto: City of Palo Alto parcel records; Portola Valley: County assessor records (Town of Portola Valley layer); San Bruno: County assessor records (City of San Bruno layer); San Francisco: San Francisco Assessor-Recorder secured roll; San Jose: City of San Jose parcel and zoning records; San Mateo: City of San Mateo parcel layer (county use codes); Santa Clara: City of Santa Clara parcel zoning records; Saratoga: County assessor records (City of Saratoga layer); South San Francisco: City of South San Francisco parcel and zoning records; Sunnyvale: City of Sunnyvale parcel records.
- Checks
- Where a city publishes its own fire field we compared: Los Gatos 752, 1,891 and 977 homes in Very High, High and Moderate zones here against 754, 1,889 and 974 in the town’s field; Saratoga 766, 505 and 406 against 767, 505 and 405. Sunnyvale’s own parcel flood field, used in our Sunnyvale flood zones post, places a few parcels differently: 566 houses in A, AE or AO zones across these guides against 540 here.
- Not included
- Campbell and Morgan Hill (no public parcel layer that identifies single-family homes), areas outside our guide outlines, and guides with too few homes.
questions
Questions we hear
Where do these numbers come from?
FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer and CAL FIRE’s fire hazard severity zone maps, matched to public parcel records from each city or county. We count single-family homes parcel by parcel inside the outline drawn for each neighborhood guide.
Why do some cities count lots instead of houses?
Some cities publish house details such as year built and size, and some publish only parcels and zoning. Where houses can’t be identified we count lots zoned or coded single-family, so a vacant lot or a home under construction can be included.
My neighborhood shows zero. Does that mean there’s no risk?
No. Zero means no counted home sits in a mapped high-risk flood zone or touches a mapped fire hazard severity zone. Floods and fires can reach beyond mapped zones, and the maps are revised over time.
How do I check one house?
Look up the address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center and CAL FIRE’s fire hazard severity zone viewer, and read the Natural Hazard Disclosure report in a sale. We’re glad to pull both for a home you’re considering.
Why is San Francisco’s flood column blank?
FEMA maps no San Francisco house in a high-risk zone; its mapped zones run along the shoreline. The city’s own 100-year storm flood risk map covers different areas, and we only found unofficial copies of it, so we leave the column blank rather than show a zero that could mislead.
How current is this?
It’s a snapshot of the public maps and parcel records as published in October 2026 (San Mateo County use codes as of June 2020). The same numbers are dataset PN-DS-27 in our Data Library.
more to learn
Keep going
- Neighborhood RankingEvery guide ranked by price per square foot from the last 180 days of sales.
- Property Nerds Data LibraryDataset PN-DS-27 has these counts as a CSV, alongside every other dataset we publish.
- Insurance LabWhich policies a California home needs, wildfire steps that earn discounts and how the FAIR Plan works.
- Disclosure DecoderWhat each California disclosure means, from the TDS and Natural Hazard Disclosure to wildfire rules.
- Market MapEvery city from San Francisco to Gilroy, colored by price, price per square foot and more.
Counts from public maps and parcel records as published in October 2026 (San Mateo County use codes as of June 2020). Not a substitute for a property-specific report; zone maps change, so check an address with FEMA and CAL FIRE.
talk to a property nerd
Want the flood and fire picture for a specific home?
We’ll pull the zone maps and the disclosure report for the homes you’re weighing and walk you through what each one means for insurance and the sale. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.
