Safest places to live in Iowa
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.
Buchanan County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 34 Iowa counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Bremer County and Boone County. At the other end, Polk 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 99 counties ›20,565 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 50 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.2Bremer County
24,970 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.3Boone County
26,715 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 53 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.4Benton County
25,558 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 46 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.5Mahaska County
22,167 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.6Henry County
20,465 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.7Jones County
20,631 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 46 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.8Marion County
33,404 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 47 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.9Warren County
52,398 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 48 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.10Winneshiek County
20,051 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 23 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Dallas County, 29,236 people2Marshalltown
Marshall County, 27,626 people3Dubuque
Dubuque County, 59,174 people4Ottumwa
Wapello County, 25,430 people5Ames
Story County, 67,669 people6Mason City
Cerro Gordo County, 27,050 people7Waterloo
Black Hawk County, 67,008 people8Cedar Falls
Black Hawk County, 40,888 people9Council Bluffs
Pottawattamie County, 62,586 people10Sioux City
Woodbury County, 86,101 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. 68 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.2Johnson County
Top hazard: Tornado. 46 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.3Linn County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 65 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.4Scott County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 67 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.5Woodbury County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 61 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 Iowa from natural disasters?
Buchanan County has the lowest overall risk score among Iowa 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 Iowa from natural disasters?
Waukee sits in Dallas County, which has the lowest risk score of any Iowa 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 Iowa have the highest disaster risk?
Polk County, Johnson County and Linn 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.