Safest places to live in Maine
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.
Sagadahoc County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 15 Maine counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Knox County and Lincoln County. At the other end, York 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 16 counties ›36,681 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.2Knox County
40,597 people. Top hazard: Hurricane. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 27 federal declarations.3Lincoln County
35,222 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 26 federal declarations.4Waldo County
39,586 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 24 federal declarations.5Franklin County
29,452 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 31 federal declarations.6Washington County
31,024 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 22 federal declarations.7Hancock County
55,442 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.8Androscoggin County
111,105 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 29 federal declarations.9Oxford County
57,747 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 35 federal declarations.10Somerset County
50,421 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 27 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Androscoggin County, 38,324 people2Portland
Cumberland County, 68,854 people3South Portland
Cumberland County, 26,930 people4Bangor
Penobscot County, 31,938 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. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 38 federal declarations.2Aroostook County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.3Penobscot County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.4Cumberland County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 35 federal declarations.5Kennebec County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 23 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 Maine from natural disasters?
Sagadahoc County has the lowest overall risk score among Maine 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 Maine from natural disasters?
Lewiston sits in Androscoggin County, which has the lowest risk score of any Maine 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 Maine have the highest disaster risk?
York County, Aroostook County and Penobscot 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.