Safest places to live in Maryland
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.
Garrett County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 23 Maryland counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Calvert County and Queen Anne's County. At the other end, Baltimore City 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 24 counties ›28,794 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.2Calvert County
92,747 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.3Queen Anne's County
49,839 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 16 federal declarations.4Talbot County
37,498 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 18 federal declarations.5St. Mary's County
113,699 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 34 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 16 federal declarations.6Charles County
166,485 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.7Caroline County
33,293 people. Top hazard: Hurricane. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 19 federal declarations.8Dorchester County
32,513 people. Top hazard: Coastal flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 18 federal declarations.9Allegany County
68,096 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 15 federal declarations.10Cecil County
103,701 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 19 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Charles County, 82,943 people2Eldersburg
Carroll County, 31,695 people3Salisbury
Wicomico County, 33,285 people4Hagerstown
Washington County, 43,665 people5Columbia
Howard County, 104,338 people6Ellicott City
Howard County, 75,257 people7Ilchester
Howard County, 28,364 people8Elkridge
Howard County, 26,283 people9North Laurel
Howard County, 25,563 people10Bel Air South
Harford County, 58,137 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. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.2Baltimore County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 32 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.3Prince George's County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 26 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.4Montgomery County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 19 federal declarations.5Anne Arundel County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 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 Maryland from natural disasters?
Garrett County has the lowest overall risk score among Maryland 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 Maryland from natural disasters?
Waldorf sits in Charles County, which has the lowest risk score of any Maryland 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 Maryland have the highest disaster risk?
Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George's 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.