Safest places to live in Indiana
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.
Fulton County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 72 Indiana counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Sullivan County and Scott County. At the other end, Marion 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 92 counties ›20,480 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.2Sullivan County
20,808 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 17 federal declarations.3Scott County
24,384 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.4Wells County
28,178 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.5Jay County
20,478 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 14 federal declarations.6Decatur County
26,440 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.7Whitley County
34,144 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 16 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.8Starke County
23,365 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.9Clay County
26,463 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 18 federal declarations.10Steuben County
34,413 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Boone County, 32,095 people2Kokomo
Howard County, 59,122 people3Marion
Grant County, 27,531 people4Columbus
Bartholomew County, 51,824 people5Richmond
Wayne County, 35,581 people6Greenwood
Johnson County, 66,029 people7Franklin
Johnson County, 26,168 people8New Albany
Floyd County, 37,581 people9Bloomington
Monroe County, 80,049 people10Muncie
Delaware County, 64,751 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. 47 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.2Lake County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 54 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.3Vanderburgh County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 32 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 18 federal declarations.4Allen County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.5Hamilton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 19 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 Indiana from natural disasters?
Fulton County has the lowest overall risk score among Indiana 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 Indiana from natural disasters?
Zionsville sits in Boone County, which has the lowest risk score of any Indiana 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 Indiana have the highest disaster risk?
Marion County, Lake County and Vanderburgh 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.