Safest places to live in Minnesota
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.
Dodge County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 49 Minnesota counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Le Sueur County and Isanti County. At the other end, Hennepin 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 87 counties ›20,867 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.2Le Sueur County
28,651 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 26 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.3Isanti County
41,125 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.4Meeker County
23,394 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 26 tornadoes since 1950, 9 federal declarations.5Mille Lacs County
26,388 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 16 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.6Hubbard County
21,321 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 24 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.7Steele County
37,400 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.8Becker County
35,074 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 35 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.9Todd County
25,251 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 11 federal declarations.10Goodhue County
47,556 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 35 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Steele County, 26,498 people2Elk River
Sherburne County, 26,793 people3Chaska
Carver County, 28,706 people4Austin
Mower County, 26,358 people5Winona
Winona County, 26,009 people6Mankato
Blue Earth County, 45,473 people7Moorhead
Clay County, 45,036 people8Shakopee
Scott County, 46,012 people9Savage
Scott County, 32,889 people10Prior Lake
Scott County, 28,016 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. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.2Ramsey County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.3St. Louis County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 43 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.4Dakota County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 41 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.5Anoka County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 11 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 Minnesota from natural disasters?
Dodge County has the lowest overall risk score among Minnesota 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 Minnesota from natural disasters?
Owatonna sits in Steele County, which has the lowest risk score of any Minnesota 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 Minnesota have the highest disaster risk?
Hennepin County, Ramsey County and St. Louis 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.