Safest places to live in Arizona
The counties and cities with the lowest natural disaster risk, ranked from FEMA's National Risk Index and checked against storm, hurricane and earthquake records.
Graham County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 13 Arizona counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Apache County and Navajo County. At the other end, Maricopa County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from inland flooding. Ranks use FEMA's overall risk score, which weighs expected yearly losses against how vulnerable and how resilient each county is.
Lowest-risk counties
All 15 counties ›38,453 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 11 federal declarations.2Apache County
65,844 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.3Navajo County
106,501 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.4Santa Cruz County
47,632 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 6 federal declarations.5Gila County
53,118 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.6Yuma County
203,299 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 4 federal declarations.7Cochise County
125,169 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.8Yavapai County
235,830 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.9Pinal County
424,095 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.10Coconino County
144,629 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 48 tornadoes since 1950, 6 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 22 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Yuma County, 100,139 people2San Luis
Yuma County, 37,337 people3Fortuna Foothills
Yuma County, 28,896 people4Sierra Vista
Cochise County, 45,155 people5Prescott Valley
Yavapai County, 49,179 people6Prescott
Yavapai County, 47,400 people7San Tan Valley
Pinal County, 109,189 people8Maricopa
Pinal County, 67,163 people9Casa Grande
Pinal County, 60,905 people10Florence
Pinal County, 25,570 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 73 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.2Pima County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.3Mohave County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.4Coconino County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 48 tornadoes since 1950, 6 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 22 federal declarations.5Pinal County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.
Before you move
A county rating is an average. Inside any county, 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 county in Arizona from natural disasters?
Graham County has the lowest overall risk score among Arizona counties with 20,000 or more people, rated low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in Arizona from natural disasters?
Yuma sits in Yuma County, which has the lowest risk score of any Arizona county 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 counties in Arizona have the highest disaster risk?
Maricopa County, Pima County and Mohave County 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.