Safest places to live in Idaho
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.
Payette County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 18 Idaho counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Minidoka County and Jerome County. At the other end, Ada 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 44 counties ›25,363 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 4 federal declarations.2Minidoka County
21,577 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 3 federal declarations.3Jerome County
24,208 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 4 federal declarations.4Nez Perce County
42,062 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.5Latah County
39,513 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.6Jefferson County
30,825 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 4 federal declarations.7Cassia County
24,356 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 3 federal declarations.8Twin Falls County
89,972 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 2 federal declarations.9Elmore County
28,530 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 9 federal declarations.10Madison County
52,900 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 3 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Nez Perce County, 34,651 people2Moscow
Latah County, 26,286 people3Twin Falls
Twin Falls County, 54,164 people4Rexburg
Madison County, 40,543 people5Pocatello
Bannock County, 57,635 people6Nampa
Canyon County, 110,319 people7Caldwell
Canyon County, 66,516 people8Coeur d'Alene
Kootenai County, 56,447 people9Post Falls
Kootenai County, 43,391 people10Idaho Falls
Bonneville County, 67,725 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. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 4 federal declarations.2Bonneville County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 5 federal declarations.3Kootenai County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.4Bonner County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.5Canyon County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 2 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 Idaho from natural disasters?
Payette County has the lowest overall risk score among Idaho 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 Idaho from natural disasters?
Lewiston sits in Nez Perce County, which has the lowest risk score of any Idaho 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 Idaho have the highest disaster risk?
Ada County, Bonneville County and Kootenai 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.