If you want a big-county job market with fewer natural hazards, the Mid-Atlantic and parts of New England, the inland Northwest and the upper Midwest stand out. Among the 142 US counties with at least 500,000 residents, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, has the lowest overall risk score in FEMA’s National Risk Index.
No large county is free of risk. Big counties have more buildings and people, so all 142 score above the national middle. This list compares them with each other, not with small rural counties.
The 12 large counties with the lowest risk scores
| Rank | County | Population | Risk score | Expected loss per resident | Top two hazards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anne Arundel County, MD | 587,917 | 82 | $127 | Inland flooding, hurricanes |
| 2 | Bristol County, MA | 578,698 | 90 | $151 | Inland flooding, hurricanes |
| 3 | Spokane County, WA | 538,806 | 90 | $183 | Inland flooding, cold waves |
| 4 | Williamson County, TX | 608,015 | 90 | $225 | Inland flooding, cold waves |
| 5 | Plymouth County, MA | 530,320 | 90 | $216 | Inland flooding, coastal flooding |
| 6 | Adams County, CO | 519,291 | 91 | $252 | Hail, inland flooding |
| 7 | Summit County, OH | 540,333 | 91 | $189 | Inland flooding, hail |
| 8 | Montgomery County, MD | 1,061,279 | 92 | $119 | Inland flooding, hurricanes |
| 9 | Chester County, PA | 534,152 | 92 | $323 | Inland flooding, heat waves |
| 10 | Norfolk County, MA | 725,648 | 92 | $202 | Inland flooding, hurricanes |
| 11 | Kent County, MI | 657,870 | 92 | $224 | Inland flooding, tornadoes |
| 12 | Clark County, WA | 503,148 | 92 | $313 | Inland flooding, earthquakes |
Risk score is a percentile among all US counties (100 = highest). All 12 are rated “Relatively Moderate” overall. Source: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025.
Why these counties score low
Most of these counties share three things:
- No major hurricane landfall zone. Maryland and Massachusetts get hurricane remnants, but rarely the direct hits that drive losses in Florida, Texas and Louisiana.
- Limited wildfire and earthquake exposure. Western counties on the list, like Spokane and Clark in Washington, have some of both, but far less than coastal California.
- Strong local resilience. Several of these counties score well on FEMA’s resilience measure, which lowers the overall score.
Low score, but not no risk
Inland flooding is the top or second hazard in 11 of the 12. That matches the country as a whole: flooding is the costliest hazard in about 7 out of 10 US counties. Even in a low-risk county, a home near a creek or in a low spot can flood.
Montgomery County, Maryland, has the lowest expected loss per resident on the list, about $119 a year, yet it has still been included in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations for natural events, mostly for storms, snow and flooding.
How we picked them
We took every county with at least 500,000 people in FEMA’s data and sorted by the overall National Risk Index score. The score combines expected yearly losses with how vulnerable residents are and how resilient the community is.
Per-resident loss is shown so you can compare counties of different sizes. Each county name links to its full page, with every hazard, the disaster history and flood insurance numbers.
Questions people ask
What is the lowest-risk county in the US overall? Small, inland, lightly populated counties score lowest, mostly in the Great Plains and the interior West. Our state pages list the lowest-risk counties in each state.
Is Anne Arundel County safe from hurricanes? No. It sits on Chesapeake Bay and gets tropical storm remnants and some storm surge. Its expected losses are simply low compared with other large counties.
Does a low-risk county mean cheaper insurance? Often, but not always. Insurance prices depend on your home, its location within the county and the insurer.
This page shares public data for comparison and is not advice. This site is independent and is not part of FEMA or any government agency.