Safest places to live in Kentucky
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.
Grant County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 57 Kentucky counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Anderson County and Lincoln County. At the other end, Jefferson 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 120 counties ›24,887 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 16 federal declarations.2Anderson County
23,852 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.3Lincoln County
24,271 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.4Allen County
20,559 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.5Montgomery County
28,088 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 22 federal declarations.6Clark County
36,972 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 25 federal declarations.7Taylor County
25,965 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.8Bourbon County
20,246 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 20 federal declarations.9Breckinridge County
20,420 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.10Jessamine County
52,980 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 24 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Jessamine County, 32,197 people2Georgetown
Scott County, 39,117 people3Frankfort
Franklin County, 28,503 people4Henderson
Henderson County, 27,852 people5Florence
Boone County, 32,803 people6Richmond
Madison County, 37,111 people7Elizabethtown
Hardin County, 32,576 people8Covington
Kenton County, 41,110 people9Independence
Kenton County, 29,392 people10Hopkinsville
Christian County, 30,906 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. 34 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.2Floyd County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 46 federal declarations.3Fayette County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 19 federal declarations.4McCracken County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.5Warren County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 33 tornadoes since 1950, 24 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 Kentucky from natural disasters?
Grant County has the lowest overall risk score among Kentucky 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 Kentucky from natural disasters?
Nicholasville sits in Jessamine County, which has the lowest risk score of any Kentucky 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 Kentucky have the highest disaster risk?
Jefferson County, Floyd County and Fayette 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.