Safest places to live in Montana
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.
Treasure County has the lowest natural disaster risk in Montana, followed by Golden Valley County and Petroleum County. At the other end, Flathead 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 56 counties ›754 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 9 federal declarations.2Golden Valley County
813 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.3Petroleum County
496 people. Top hazard: Lightning. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.4Carter County
1,400 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 6 federal declarations.5Daniels County
1,661 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 6 federal declarations.6Garfield County
1,171 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.7Meagher County
1,926 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 8 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 8 federal declarations.8Wheatland County
2,067 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.9Powder River County
1,687 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.10Prairie County
1,081 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 5 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Silver Bow County, 35,052 people2Helena
Lewis and Clark County, 33,639 people3Missoula
Missoula County, 76,514 people4Bozeman
Gallatin County, 56,114 people5Great Falls
Cascade County, 60,329 people6Billings
Yellowstone County, 119,434 people7Kalispell
Flathead County, 28,504 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. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 13 federal declarations.2Yellowstone County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.3Cascade County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 5 federal declarations.4Gallatin County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 11 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 7 federal declarations.5Ravalli County
Top hazard: Wildfire. 3 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 Montana from natural disasters?
Treasure County has the lowest overall risk score in Montana, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in Montana from natural disasters?
Butte-Silver Bow sits in Silver Bow County, which has the lowest risk score of any Montana 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 Montana have the highest disaster risk?
Flathead County, Yellowstone County and Cascade 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.