Safest places to live in Mississippi
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.
Tate County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 45 Mississippi counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Union County and Tippah County. At the other end, Harrison County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from hurricane. 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 82 counties ›28,022 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 16 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.2Union County
27,724 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.3Tippah County
21,783 people. Top hazard: Tornado. 23 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.4Lincoln County
34,886 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 67 tornadoes since 1950, 7 hurricanes within 65 miles, 30 federal declarations.5Itawamba County
23,822 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.6Pontotoc County
31,149 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.7Simpson County
25,913 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 82 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 28 federal declarations.8Prentiss County
24,995 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 30 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.9Newton County
21,246 people. Top hazard: Tornado. 58 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.10Grenada County
21,585 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 25 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Oktibbeha County, 25,721 people2Oxford
Lafayette County, 26,411 people3Hattiesburg
Forrest County, 48,619 people4Tupelo
Lee County, 37,791 people5Madison
Madison County, 27,946 people6Greenville
Washington County, 28,166 people7Pearl
Rankin County, 27,737 people8Brandon
Rankin County, 25,542 people9Meridian
Lauderdale County, 34,137 people10Southaven
DeSoto County, 56,226 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Hurricane. 91 tornadoes since 1950, 24 hurricanes within 65 miles, 35 federal declarations.2Hinds County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 127 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 24 federal declarations.3Jackson County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 79 tornadoes since 1950, 27 hurricanes within 65 miles, 34 federal declarations.4DeSoto County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.5Lauderdale County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 67 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 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 Mississippi from natural disasters?
Tate County has the lowest overall risk score among Mississippi counties with 20,000 or more people, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is earthquake.
What is the safest city in Mississippi from natural disasters?
Starkville sits in Oktibbeha County, which has the lowest risk score of any Mississippi 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 Mississippi have the highest disaster risk?
Harrison County, Hinds County and Jackson 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.