April 15, 2026·GridPrepped Team
The 50 Most At Risk Counties in America (According to FEMA)
We analyzed FEMA's National Risk Index to find which counties face the most natural disaster threats. Nearly 89 million Americans live in the top 50. Is yours on the list?
Here's a number that should keep you up at night: 88,651,365 Americans live in the 50 highest risk counties in the United States.
We pulled the latest data from FEMA's National Risk Index, which scores every U.S. county across 18 natural hazards including earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, tornadoes, and more. The index factors in expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to produce a composite risk score.
The results are eye opening.
California Dominates the List
17 of the top 50 counties are in California. That's more than a third of the list. Los Angeles County holds the #1 spot with a perfect risk score of 100, facing "Very High" risk for earthquakes, inland flooding, lightning, and wildfire, plus elevated risk for avalanche, coastal flooding, heat waves, landslides, and tornadoes.
But California isn't the only state that should be paying attention.
Florida has 7 counties in the top 50. Texas has 6. New York has 3.
The Top 25 Most At Risk Counties
1. Los Angeles County, California (Risk Score: 100.0)
Pop: 10,005,712 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Wildfire, Lightning
2. Cook County, Illinois (Risk Score: 100.0)
Pop: 5,272,775 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Tornado, Flooding, Ice Storm
3. Harris County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 4,726,200 | Threats: Hurricane, Tornado, Flooding, Cold Wave, Lightning
4. Riverside County, California (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 2,416,838 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Wildfire, Heat Wave
5. Maricopa County, Arizona (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 4,418,836 | Threats: Heat Wave, Hail, Flooding, Strong Wind, Drought
6. San Bernardino County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 2,179,979 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide, Wildfire
7. Orange County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 3,183,647 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Wildfire
8. Alameda County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 1,678,284 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Wildfire
9. Santa Clara County, California (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 1,934,625 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Drought
10. San Diego County, California (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 3,295,981 | Threats: Wildfire, Flooding, Earthquake, Heat Wave
11. King County, Washington (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 2,268,178 | Threats: Avalanche, Earthquake, Flooding, Volcanic Activity
12. Dallas County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 2,607,218 | Threats: Hail, Tornado, Heat Wave, Cold Wave, Ice Storm
13. Miami-Dade County, Florida (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 2,698,679 | Threats: Hurricane, Coastal Flooding, Lightning, Cold Wave
14. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 1,602,305 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Flooding, Winter Weather
15. Clark County, Nevada (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 2,260,510 | Threats: Heat Wave, Flooding, Earthquake, Wildfire
16. San Francisco County, California (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 873,808 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide
17. Contra Costa County, California (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 1,165,466 | Threats: Flooding, Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave
18. Broward County, Florida (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 1,940,829 | Threats: Hurricane, Coastal Flooding, Lightning, Tornado
19. Bexar County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 2,007,298 | Threats: Hail, Tornado, Flooding, Heat Wave
20. Ventura County, California (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 843,136 | Threats: Flooding, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
21. Shelby County, Tennessee (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 929,552 | Threats: Cold Wave, Tornado, Earthquake, Heat Wave
22. St. Louis County, Missouri (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 1,003,734 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Hail, Ice Storm, Lightning
23. Fresno County, California (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 1,007,944 | Threats: Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Wildfire
24. Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 2,735,309 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Flooding, Strong Wind
25. San Mateo County, California (Risk Score: 99.2)
Pop: 763,661 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide, Coastal Flooding
Counties 26 through 50
26. Palm Beach County, Florida — Hurricane, Lightning, Drought
27. Queens County, New York — Coastal Flooding, Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Strong Wind
28. Tarrant County, Texas — Hail, Tornado, Ice Storm, Winter Weather
29. Pima County, Arizona — Heat Wave, Flooding, Lightning, Wildfire
30. Sonoma County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
31. Lee County, Florida — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Lightning
32. Hidalgo County, Texas — Hurricane, Cold Wave, Hail, Ice Storm
33. Santa Barbara County, California — Drought, Landslide, Earthquake, Wildfire
34. Wayne County, Michigan — Cold Wave, Tornado, Ice Storm, Flooding
35. Collier County, Florida — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Cold Wave, Lightning
36. Kern County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Wildfire
37. Collin County, Texas — Hail, Tornado, Cold Wave, Heat Wave
38. Hillsborough County, Florida — Hurricane, Cold Wave, Lightning, Tornado
39. New York County (Manhattan), New York — Flooding, Strong Wind, Winter Weather
40. Honolulu County, Hawaii — Flooding, Lightning, Earthquake, Tsunami
41. Monterey County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
42. St. Louis city, Missouri — Heat Wave, Tornado, Earthquake, Ice Storm
43. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Lightning
44. Charleston County, South Carolina — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Earthquake
45. San Joaquin County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Flooding
46. Salt Lake County, Utah — Avalanche, Winter Weather, Earthquake, Wildfire
47. Pierce County, Washington — Avalanche, Earthquake, Volcanic Activity
48. Hawaii County, Hawaii — Lightning, Volcanic Activity, Earthquake, Wildfire
49. Multnomah County, Oregon — Earthquake, Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Ice Storm
50. Orange County, Florida — Cold Wave, Lightning, Tornado, Strong Wind
The #1 Hazard Might Surprise You
It's not earthquakes. It's not hurricanes.
Inland flooding is rated "Very High" in 25 of the top 50 counties. Half the list.
Here's how the hazards rank across America's riskiest counties:
Inland Flooding: 25 counties
Lightning: 18 counties
Cold Wave: 14 counties
Heat Wave: 11 counties
Tornado: 11 counties
Hurricane: 10 counties
Strong Wind: 9 counties
Winter Weather: 9 counties
Earthquake: 8 counties
Ice Storm: 7 counties
Hail: 7 counties
Coastal Flooding: 7 counties
Wildfire: 4 counties
Drought: 4 counties
Avalanche: 3 counties
The disasters that make headlines aren't always the ones that pose the greatest statistical risk to your household.
What This Means for Your Family
Living in a high risk county doesn't mean disaster is inevitable. It means preparation isn't optional.
The counties that score well on FEMA's Community Resilience metric are the ones where households have plans, supplies, and awareness of their local risks. That's not a coincidence.
The gap between a disaster and a catastrophe is preparation.
Check Your Household's Risk
We built GridPrepped to make this personal. Enter your address and see your exact disaster risk profile based on the same FEMA, NWS, and USGS data behind these rankings.
It's free. It takes 2 minutes. And it might change how you think about your family's safety.
Check Your Risk at gridprepped.com
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Data source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025). County level data accessed via the National Risk Index feature service. Risk scores are relative percentile rankings across all U.S. counties.
GridPrepped is an emergency preparedness platform that helps households assess local disaster risks, build emergency plans, track supplies, and measure readiness.
We pulled the latest data from FEMA's National Risk Index, which scores every U.S. county across 18 natural hazards including earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, tornadoes, and more. The index factors in expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience to produce a composite risk score.
The results are eye opening.
California Dominates the List
17 of the top 50 counties are in California. That's more than a third of the list. Los Angeles County holds the #1 spot with a perfect risk score of 100, facing "Very High" risk for earthquakes, inland flooding, lightning, and wildfire, plus elevated risk for avalanche, coastal flooding, heat waves, landslides, and tornadoes.
But California isn't the only state that should be paying attention.
Florida has 7 counties in the top 50. Texas has 6. New York has 3.
The Top 25 Most At Risk Counties
1. Los Angeles County, California (Risk Score: 100.0)
Pop: 10,005,712 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Wildfire, Lightning
2. Cook County, Illinois (Risk Score: 100.0)
Pop: 5,272,775 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Tornado, Flooding, Ice Storm
3. Harris County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 4,726,200 | Threats: Hurricane, Tornado, Flooding, Cold Wave, Lightning
4. Riverside County, California (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 2,416,838 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Wildfire, Heat Wave
5. Maricopa County, Arizona (Risk Score: 99.9)
Pop: 4,418,836 | Threats: Heat Wave, Hail, Flooding, Strong Wind, Drought
6. San Bernardino County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 2,179,979 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide, Wildfire
7. Orange County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 3,183,647 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Wildfire
8. Alameda County, California (Risk Score: 99.8)
Pop: 1,678,284 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Wildfire
9. Santa Clara County, California (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 1,934,625 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Drought
10. San Diego County, California (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 3,295,981 | Threats: Wildfire, Flooding, Earthquake, Heat Wave
11. King County, Washington (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 2,268,178 | Threats: Avalanche, Earthquake, Flooding, Volcanic Activity
12. Dallas County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.7)
Pop: 2,607,218 | Threats: Hail, Tornado, Heat Wave, Cold Wave, Ice Storm
13. Miami-Dade County, Florida (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 2,698,679 | Threats: Hurricane, Coastal Flooding, Lightning, Cold Wave
14. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 1,602,305 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Flooding, Winter Weather
15. Clark County, Nevada (Risk Score: 99.6)
Pop: 2,260,510 | Threats: Heat Wave, Flooding, Earthquake, Wildfire
16. San Francisco County, California (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 873,808 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide
17. Contra Costa County, California (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 1,165,466 | Threats: Flooding, Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave
18. Broward County, Florida (Risk Score: 99.5)
Pop: 1,940,829 | Threats: Hurricane, Coastal Flooding, Lightning, Tornado
19. Bexar County, Texas (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 2,007,298 | Threats: Hail, Tornado, Flooding, Heat Wave
20. Ventura County, California (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 843,136 | Threats: Flooding, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
21. Shelby County, Tennessee (Risk Score: 99.4)
Pop: 929,552 | Threats: Cold Wave, Tornado, Earthquake, Heat Wave
22. St. Louis County, Missouri (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 1,003,734 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Hail, Ice Storm, Lightning
23. Fresno County, California (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 1,007,944 | Threats: Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Wildfire
24. Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (Risk Score: 99.3)
Pop: 2,735,309 | Threats: Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Flooding, Strong Wind
25. San Mateo County, California (Risk Score: 99.2)
Pop: 763,661 | Threats: Earthquake, Flooding, Landslide, Coastal Flooding
Counties 26 through 50
26. Palm Beach County, Florida — Hurricane, Lightning, Drought
27. Queens County, New York — Coastal Flooding, Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Strong Wind
28. Tarrant County, Texas — Hail, Tornado, Ice Storm, Winter Weather
29. Pima County, Arizona — Heat Wave, Flooding, Lightning, Wildfire
30. Sonoma County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
31. Lee County, Florida — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Lightning
32. Hidalgo County, Texas — Hurricane, Cold Wave, Hail, Ice Storm
33. Santa Barbara County, California — Drought, Landslide, Earthquake, Wildfire
34. Wayne County, Michigan — Cold Wave, Tornado, Ice Storm, Flooding
35. Collier County, Florida — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Cold Wave, Lightning
36. Kern County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Wildfire
37. Collin County, Texas — Hail, Tornado, Cold Wave, Heat Wave
38. Hillsborough County, Florida — Hurricane, Cold Wave, Lightning, Tornado
39. New York County (Manhattan), New York — Flooding, Strong Wind, Winter Weather
40. Honolulu County, Hawaii — Flooding, Lightning, Earthquake, Tsunami
41. Monterey County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Wildfire, Landslide
42. St. Louis city, Missouri — Heat Wave, Tornado, Earthquake, Ice Storm
43. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Lightning
44. Charleston County, South Carolina — Coastal Flooding, Hurricane, Earthquake
45. San Joaquin County, California — Drought, Earthquake, Heat Wave, Flooding
46. Salt Lake County, Utah — Avalanche, Winter Weather, Earthquake, Wildfire
47. Pierce County, Washington — Avalanche, Earthquake, Volcanic Activity
48. Hawaii County, Hawaii — Lightning, Volcanic Activity, Earthquake, Wildfire
49. Multnomah County, Oregon — Earthquake, Cold Wave, Heat Wave, Ice Storm
50. Orange County, Florida — Cold Wave, Lightning, Tornado, Strong Wind
The #1 Hazard Might Surprise You
It's not earthquakes. It's not hurricanes.
Inland flooding is rated "Very High" in 25 of the top 50 counties. Half the list.
Here's how the hazards rank across America's riskiest counties:
Inland Flooding: 25 counties
Lightning: 18 counties
Cold Wave: 14 counties
Heat Wave: 11 counties
Tornado: 11 counties
Hurricane: 10 counties
Strong Wind: 9 counties
Winter Weather: 9 counties
Earthquake: 8 counties
Ice Storm: 7 counties
Hail: 7 counties
Coastal Flooding: 7 counties
Wildfire: 4 counties
Drought: 4 counties
Avalanche: 3 counties
The disasters that make headlines aren't always the ones that pose the greatest statistical risk to your household.
What This Means for Your Family
Living in a high risk county doesn't mean disaster is inevitable. It means preparation isn't optional.
The counties that score well on FEMA's Community Resilience metric are the ones where households have plans, supplies, and awareness of their local risks. That's not a coincidence.
The gap between a disaster and a catastrophe is preparation.
Check Your Household's Risk
We built GridPrepped to make this personal. Enter your address and see your exact disaster risk profile based on the same FEMA, NWS, and USGS data behind these rankings.
It's free. It takes 2 minutes. And it might change how you think about your family's safety.
Check Your Risk at gridprepped.com
---
Data source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025). County level data accessed via the National Risk Index feature service. Risk scores are relative percentile rankings across all U.S. counties.
GridPrepped is an emergency preparedness platform that helps households assess local disaster risks, build emergency plans, track supplies, and measure readiness.