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National comparison · FEMA National Risk Index

Safest states from natural disasters

North Dakota ranks lowest in this state comparison, based on the average FEMA National Risk Index score across its 49 scored counties. Lower scores rank first.

North Dakota
Lowest average risk
23.1 / 100
Average county NRI score
49
Counties scored

How wide is the gap

North Dakota posts the lowest average county FEMA risk score at 23.1/100, while District of Columbia sits at the other end at 97.6/100, roughly 4.2x higher. Both figures average FEMA's county-level National Risk Index within the state, so a large state with a few very high-risk counties can still average lower than a small state with uniformly moderate risk.

23.1
North Dakota's average risk score, the lowest in this ranking
97.6
District of Columbia's average risk score, the highest
50
states and territories compared

A state average can mask county-level variation; see the per-state detail page for the county breakdown.

What this ranking measures

FEMA publishes its National Risk Index at the county level. This page averages those county scores within each state and ranks the lower averages first. It is a comparison of FEMA's modeled risk metric, not a forecast and not a guarantee that every county or hazard in a state is low risk.

12 states with the lowest average county FEMA risk score

Lower average National Risk Index scores rank first

average score

What this shows North Dakota has the lowest average county FEMA National Risk Index score in this comparison. The table shows every state and territory with available county-level NRI data.

Source FEMA National Risk Index

Which states have the highest natural disaster risk?

The worst states for natural disasters in this comparison are the states with the highest average county FEMA National Risk Index score, led by District of Columbia. A higher average score reflects greater modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and lower community resilience across the state's counties, not a higher count of past disaster declarations.

  1. 1. District of Columbia 97.6 / 100
  2. 2. Hawaii 93.7 / 100
  3. 3. Arizona 92.5 / 100
  4. 4. Delaware 91.3 / 100
  5. 5. New Jersey 90.8 / 100
  6. 6. California 88.7 / 100
  7. 7. Massachusetts 78.8 / 100
  8. 8. Florida 75.7 / 100
  9. 9. New Mexico 71.1 / 100
  10. 10. South Carolina 70.7 / 100

Full safest-states ranking

Lower average county scores rank first. The last column counts counties FEMA rates Relatively High or Very High.

# State Average NRI ScoreHigh-Risk Counties
1 North Dakota ND 23.1 / 100 0
2 Kansas KS 27.0 / 100 1
3 South Dakota SD 27.2 / 100 0
4 Nebraska NE 28.5 / 100 1
5 Virginia VA 33.3 / 100 1
6 Alaska AK 35.6 / 100 1
7 Montana MT 36.4 / 100 0
8 Vermont VT 36.4 / 100 0
9 Wyoming WY 37.9 / 100 0
10 Minnesota MN 38.2 / 100 0
11 Idaho ID 38.5 / 100 0
12 Georgia GA 39.5 / 100 4
13 Iowa IA 39.7 / 100 0
14 Kentucky KY 44.2 / 100 1
15 Utah UT 44.8 / 100 2
16 Indiana IN 45.5 / 100 2
17 Colorado CO 45.6 / 100 2
18 Texas TX 49.0 / 100 16
19 West Virginia WV 49.2 / 100 1
20 Michigan MI 50.8 / 100 3
21 Mississippi MS 50.9 / 100 1
22 Tennessee TN 52.5 / 100 2
23 Missouri MO 52.5 / 100 2
24 Ohio OH 52.9 / 100 0
25 Illinois IL 53.2 / 100 3
26 Oklahoma OK 55.5 / 100 2
27 Arkansas AR 55.5 / 100 1
28 Nevada NV 56.2 / 100 2
29 Rhode Island RI 56.6 / 100 0
30 Maine ME 56.7 / 100 0
31 Maryland MD 60.2 / 100 1
32 Alabama AL 61.5 / 100 4
33 Louisiana LA 62.4 / 100 7
34 Oregon OR 63.2 / 100 6
35 Pennsylvania PA 65.5 / 100 3
36 New Hampshire NH 66.7 / 100 0
37 North Carolina NC 66.7 / 100 5
38 Wisconsin WI 67.8 / 100 1
39 New York NY 69.4 / 100 8
40 Washington WA 70.0 / 100 5
41 South Carolina SC 70.7 / 100 4
42 New Mexico NM 71.1 / 100 2
43 Florida FL 75.7 / 100 21
44 Massachusetts MA 78.8 / 100 2
45 California CA 88.7 / 100 31
46 New Jersey NJ 90.8 / 100 9
47 Delaware DE 91.3 / 100 1
48 Arizona AZ 92.5 / 100 3
49 Hawaii HI 93.7 / 100 2
50 District of Columbia DC 97.6 / 100 1

Source: FEMA National Risk Index County risk scores Scores are averaged across the counties represented for each state. Read the methodology before using this comparison for a local decision.

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking aggregates FEMA National Risk Index county scores. It labels the aggregation rather than presenting it as a forecast. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, or report a data error.