diff --git a/src/utils/kde.js b/src/utils/kde.js
index 32b28e2..903a158 100644
--- a/src/utils/kde.js
+++ b/src/utils/kde.js
@@ -6,7 +6,20 @@
  */
 
 const SQRT_2PI = Math.sqrt(2 * Math.PI)
+// Absolute last-resort floor, used only when no plotting domain is known.
 const MIN_BANDWIDTH = 1e-3
+// Bandwidth is clamped relative to the plotting domain, not to absolute units,
+// because these draws are rate-per-1,000 values whose scale varies by orders of
+// magnitude between districts. domainWidth/50 is slightly wider than one render
+// step at the charts' n = 60 (step = domainWidth/59), so a degenerate draw set
+// (e.g. 500 identical zeros, common for small districts) resolves as a narrow
+// bump instead of a delta spike that flattens every other ridge sharing the
+// column's maxPdf. It is also loose enough not to bind on an ordinary posterior:
+// a spread wider than ~8% of the domain keeps its own Silverman bandwidth.
+// domainWidth/6 stops a handful of extreme draws from inflating sd until the
+// curve is a flat line.
+const BANDWIDTH_FLOOR_DIVISOR = 50
+const BANDWIDTH_CEILING_DIVISOR = 6
 
 /**
  * Linear-interpolated quantile (R type-7). Does not mutate `draws`.
@@ -32,19 +45,40 @@ function standardDeviation(draws) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Silverman's rule-of-thumb bandwidth (robust variant using min(sd, IQR/1.34)),
- * floored so a near-degenerate draw set (e.g. almost all zeros) never
- * collapses the kernel to a spike.
+ * Silverman's rule-of-thumb bandwidth (robust variant using the smallest
+ * *positive* spread estimate among sd and IQR/1.34), clamped to a fraction of
+ * the plotting domain.
+ *
+ * Both ends of the clamp matter for the zero-inflated count posteriors small
+ * districts produce. Without the floor, an all-identical draw set (sd = IQR = 0)
+ * collapses to a delta-function spike. Without the ceiling, a group whose IQR is
+ * 0 (the normal case when most draws are 0) falls back to raw sd, which a
+ * handful of extreme draws inflates until the ridge is a featureless flat line.
+ *
  * @param {number[]} draws
+ * @param {number} [domainWidth] - width of the x-range the curve will be drawn
+ *   over. Omit only when no domain is known; the clamp then degrades to the
+ *   absolute MIN_BANDWIDTH floor.
  * @returns {number}
  */
-export function silvermanBandwidth(draws) {
+export function silvermanBandwidth(draws, domainWidth = 0) {
+  const width = domainWidth > 0 ? domainWidth : 0
+  const floor = width ? width / BANDWIDTH_FLOOR_DIVISOR : MIN_BANDWIDTH
+  const ceiling = width ? width / BANDWIDTH_CEILING_DIVISOR : Infinity
+
   const n = draws.length
-  if (n < 2) return MIN_BANDWIDTH
+  if (n < 2) return floor
+
   const sd = standardDeviation(draws)
   const iqr = quantile(draws, 0.75) - quantile(draws, 0.25)
-  const spread = Math.min(sd, iqr / 1.34) || sd || MIN_BANDWIDTH
-  return Math.max(0.9 * spread * Math.pow(n, -0.2), MIN_BANDWIDTH)
+  // Degrade gracefully: keep the robust rule when IQR is informative, use sd
+  // when it isn't, and let the floor handle a fully degenerate draw set —
+  // rather than treating a zero spread as "no estimate available".
+  const candidates = [sd, iqr / 1.34].filter((v) => v > 0)
+  const spread = candidates.length ? Math.min(...candidates) : 0
+
+  const raw = 0.9 * spread * Math.pow(n, -0.2)
+  return Math.min(Math.max(raw, floor), ceiling)
 }
 
 /**
@@ -57,7 +91,10 @@ export function silvermanBandwidth(draws) {
  */
 export function kdeCurve(draws, { min = 0, max, n = 60 } = {}) {
   const hi = max ?? Math.max(...draws) * 1.1
-  const h = silvermanBandwidth(draws)
+  // Guarded against a degenerate/inverted domain so the bandwidth clamp can
+  // never be handed a negative width.
+  const domainWidth = Math.max(hi - min, 0)
+  const h = silvermanBandwidth(draws, domainWidth)
   const step = (hi - min) / (n - 1)
   const points = []
   for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
diff --git a/src/utils/kde.test.js b/src/utils/kde.test.js
index c3c7f5e..e18f937 100644
--- a/src/utils/kde.test.js
+++ b/src/utils/kde.test.js
@@ -18,13 +18,73 @@ test('quantile: does not mutate its input array', () => {
 })
 
 test('silvermanBandwidth: positive, finite floor for identical draws', () => {
-  const h = silvermanBandwidth([7, 7, 7, 7, 7])
+  const h = silvermanBandwidth([7, 7, 7, 7, 7], 10)
   assert.ok(h > 0 && Number.isFinite(h))
+  assert.equal(h, 10 / 50, 'degenerate spread falls back to the domain-relative floor')
 })
 
 test('silvermanBandwidth: positive, finite floor for a single draw', () => {
-  const h = silvermanBandwidth([7])
+  const h = silvermanBandwidth([7], 10)
   assert.ok(h > 0 && Number.isFinite(h))
+  assert.equal(h, 10 / 50)
+})
+
+test('silvermanBandwidth: positive, finite floor when no domain is supplied', () => {
+  assert.ok(silvermanBandwidth([7, 7, 7, 7, 7]) > 0)
+  assert.ok(silvermanBandwidth([7]) > 0)
+})
+
+test('silvermanBandwidth: clamped to [domainWidth/50, domainWidth/6]', () => {
+  const domainWidth = 30
+  // sd is inflated by 50 extreme draws; without the ceiling this is ~15.6.
+  const outlierDraws = [...Array(450).fill(0), ...Array(50).fill(200)]
+  assert.equal(silvermanBandwidth(outlierDraws, domainWidth), domainWidth / 6)
+  // Fully degenerate: sd = IQR = 0.
+  assert.equal(silvermanBandwidth(Array(500).fill(0), domainWidth), domainWidth / 50)
+})
+
+test('silvermanBandwidth: leaves an ordinary spread untouched by the clamp', () => {
+  const draws = Array.from({ length: 500 }, (_, i) => 3 + Math.sin(i) * 1.2 + (i % 7) * 0.15)
+  const h = silvermanBandwidth(draws, 10)
+  assert.ok(h > 10 / 50 && h < 10 / 6, `expected an unclamped bandwidth, got ${h}`)
+})
+
+test('kdeCurve: all-identical draws do not produce a delta-function spike', () => {
+  // 500 identical zeros is the common case for a small district's rare-event
+  // count posterior. The old absolute 1e-3 floor gave maxY ~399 here (peak
+  // ~3989x a uniform density over the same domain), which flattened every other
+  // ridge sharing the column's maxPdf to sub-pixel height.
+  const domainWidth = 10
+  const curve = kdeCurve(Array(500).fill(0), { min: 0, max: domainWidth, n: 60 })
+  const maxY = Math.max(...curve.map((p) => p.y))
+  assert.ok(Number.isFinite(maxY) && maxY > 0)
+  assert.ok(
+    maxY * domainWidth < 25,
+    `peak density should stay within ~25x a uniform density over the domain, got ${maxY * domainWidth}x`,
+  )
+})
+
+test('kdeCurve: zero-inflated draws keep their shape (not over-smoothed to flat)', () => {
+  const domainWidth = 10
+  const draws = [...Array(450).fill(0), ...Array(50).fill(1)]
+  const curve = kdeCurve(draws, { min: 0, max: domainWidth, n: 60 })
+  const ys = curve.map((p) => p.y)
+  const maxY = Math.max(...ys)
+  const meanY = ys.reduce((sum, y) => sum + y, 0) / ys.length
+  assert.ok(maxY / meanY > 3, `expected a peaked curve, got peak/mean ${maxY / meanY}`)
+})
+
+test('kdeCurve: outlier-inflated sd does not flatten the curve', () => {
+  // IQR is 0 here (most draws are 0), so the rule falls back to sd — which these
+  // 50 extreme draws inflate to ~60. Unclamped that gives h ~15.6 on a domain of
+  // 30, i.e. peak/mean ~1.6: a near-flat line claiming maximal uncertainty.
+  const domainWidth = 30
+  const draws = [...Array(450).fill(0), ...Array(50).fill(200)]
+  const curve = kdeCurve(draws, { min: 0, max: domainWidth, n: 60 })
+  const ys = curve.map((p) => p.y)
+  const maxY = Math.max(...ys)
+  const meanY = ys.reduce((sum, y) => sum + y, 0) / ys.length
+  assert.ok(maxY / meanY > 3, `expected a peaked curve, got peak/mean ${maxY / meanY}`)
 })
 
 test('kdeCurve: returns n points spanning [min, max]', () => {