Safest places to live in Georgia
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.
Jones County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 88 Georgia counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Upson County and Monroe County. At the other end, Chatham County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from hurricane. 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 159 counties ›28,314 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 15 federal declarations.2Upson County
27,681 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.3Monroe County
27,887 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 19 federal declarations.4Meriwether County
20,583 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.5Oconee County
41,747 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.6Morgan County
20,044 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 11 federal declarations.7Butts County
25,426 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.8Harris County
34,598 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 26 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 13 federal declarations.9Dawson County
26,760 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.10Peach County
27,943 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 5 hurricanes within 65 miles, 15 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Troup County, 32,078 people2Peachtree City
Fayette County, 39,576 people3Newnan
Coweta County, 44,235 people4Douglasville
Douglas County, 37,536 people5Athens
Clarke County, 127,345 people6Warner Robins
Houston County, 82,990 people7Carrollton
Carroll County, 27,392 people8Valdosta
Lowndes County, 55,252 people9Statesboro
Bulloch County, 34,149 people10Evans
Columbia County, 36,998 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Hurricane. 32 tornadoes since 1950, 22 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.2Fulton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 38 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.3Gwinnett County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.4Cobb County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.5DeKalb County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 16 tornadoes since 1950, 16 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 Georgia from natural disasters?
Jones County has the lowest overall risk score among Georgia counties with 20,000 or more people, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in Georgia from natural disasters?
LaGrange sits in Troup County, which has the lowest risk score of any Georgia 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 Georgia have the highest disaster risk?
Chatham County, Fulton County and Gwinnett 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.