Safest places to live in Alaska
The boroughs and cities with the lowest natural disaster risk, ranked from FEMA's National Risk Index and checked against storm, hurricane and earthquake records.
Wrangell City and Borough has the lowest natural disaster risk in Alaska, followed by Skagway Municipality and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area. At the other end, Anchorage Municipality carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from earthquake. Ranks use FEMA's overall risk score, which weighs expected yearly losses against how vulnerable and how resilient each borough is.
Lowest-risk boroughs
All 30 boroughs ›2,120 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 federal declarations.2Skagway Municipality
1,238 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 7 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 1 federal declarations.3Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
5,714 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 federal declarations.4Bristol Bay Borough
843 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 5 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 2 federal declarations.5Ketchikan Gateway Borough
13,937 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 federal declarations.6Yakutat City and Borough
647 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 37 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 0 federal declarations.7Haines Borough
2,080 people. Top hazard: Avalanche. 8 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 1 federal declarations.8Lake and Peninsula Borough
1,472 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 12 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 1 federal declarations.9Juneau City and Borough
32,108 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 2 federal declarations.10Hoonah-Angoon Census Area
2,313 people. Top hazard: Avalanche. 8 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 0 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Juneau City and Borough, 31,794 people2Fairbanks
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 32,083 people3Anchorage
Anchorage Municipality, 288,976 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the borough the city is in.
Highest-risk boroughs
Top hazard: Earthquake. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 38 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 5 federal declarations.2Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Top hazard: Earthquake. 20 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 18 federal declarations.3Kenai Peninsula Borough
Top hazard: Earthquake. 41 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 18 federal declarations.4Fairbanks North Star Borough
Top hazard: Earthquake. 8 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 14 federal declarations.5Aleutians West Census Area
Top hazard: Tsunami. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 4 federal declarations.
Before you move
A county rating is an average. Inside any borough, homes near rivers, coasts or steep slopes carry more risk than the rest. Look up the exact address with our flood zone lookup, ask the seller about past flood or storm claims, and get an insurance quote before you commit.
Questions
What is the safest borough in Alaska from natural disasters?
Wrangell City and Borough has the lowest overall risk score in Alaska, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in Alaska from natural disasters?
Juneau sits in Juneau City and Borough, which has the lowest risk score of any Alaska borough containing a city of 25,000 or more people. County ratings cover the whole county, so check the flood zone of any address you are considering.
Which boroughs in Alaska have the highest disaster risk?
Anchorage Municipality, Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Kenai Peninsula Borough have the highest overall risk scores in the state.
Does a low rating mean no disasters?
No. A low rating means lower expected losses compared with other US counties, after accounting for how many people and buildings are exposed and how well the area recovers. Floods and severe storms can happen anywhere, and most flood claims come from outside mapped high-risk zones.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); NOAA Storm Events and HURDAT2; USGS earthquake catalog; OpenFEMA declarations since 1953.