Safest places to live in California
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.
Lassen County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 50 California counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Glenn County and Amador County. At the other end, Los Angeles County 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 county is.
Lowest-risk counties
All 58 counties ›32,683 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 6 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 17 federal declarations.2Glenn County
28,889 people. Top hazard: Drought. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 4 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 19 federal declarations.3Amador County
40,427 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 19 federal declarations.4Yuba County
81,512 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 6 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 26 federal declarations.5Colusa County
21,811 people. Top hazard: Drought. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 6 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 17 federal declarations.6Sutter County
99,621 people. Top hazard: Drought. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 5 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 18 federal declarations.7San Benito County
64,102 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 34 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 16 federal declarations.8Tuolumne County
55,536 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 7 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 20 federal declarations.9Calaveras County
45,237 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.10Tehama County
65,755 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 23 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Sutter County, 69,471 people2Hollister
San Benito County, 43,811 people3Davis
Yolo County, 66,978 people4Woodland
Yolo County, 61,854 people5West Sacramento
Yolo County, 54,927 people6El Dorado Hills
El Dorado County, 51,026 people7Hanford
Kings County, 59,754 people8Lemoore
Kings County, 27,102 people9Roseville
Placer County, 155,955 people10Rocklin
Placer County, 73,327 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Earthquake. 50 tornadoes since 1950, 32 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 86 federal declarations.2Riverside County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 48 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 64 federal declarations.3Orange County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 23 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 40 federal declarations.4San Bernardino County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 33 tornadoes since 1950, 17 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 59 federal declarations.5Alameda County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 29 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 22 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 California from natural disasters?
Lassen County has the lowest overall risk score among California 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 California from natural disasters?
Yuba City sits in Sutter County, which has the lowest risk score of any California 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 California have the highest disaster risk?
Los Angeles County, Riverside County and Orange 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.