Safest places to live in Nebraska
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.
Washington County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 17 Nebraska counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Saunders County and Cass County. At the other end, Douglas 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 93 counties ›20,857 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 23 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.2Saunders County
22,262 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 46 tornadoes since 1950, 28 federal declarations.3Cass County
26,592 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 52 tornadoes since 1950, 25 federal declarations.4Dakota County
21,545 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.5Gage County
21,684 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 55 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.6Lincoln County
34,647 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 106 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.7Madison County
35,573 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 46 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.8Scotts Bluff County
36,060 people. Top hazard: Hail. 68 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.9Adams County
31,199 people. Top hazard: Hail. 56 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.10Dawson County
24,096 people. Top hazard: Hail. 58 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Madison County, 26,054 people2Hastings
Adams County, 25,008 people3Kearney
Buffalo County, 34,246 people4Fremont
Dodge County, 27,567 people5Grand Island
Hall County, 52,884 people6Bellevue
Sarpy County, 64,510 people7Papillion
Sarpy County, 25,244 people8Lincoln
Lancaster County, 294,856 people9Omaha
Douglas County, 488,837 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. 23 tornadoes since 1950, 27 federal declarations.2Lancaster County
Top hazard: Tornado. 52 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.3Sarpy County
Top hazard: Tornado. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.4Hall County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 80 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.5Platte County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 36 tornadoes since 1950, 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 Nebraska from natural disasters?
Washington County has the lowest overall risk score among Nebraska 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 Nebraska from natural disasters?
Norfolk sits in Madison County, which has the lowest risk score of any Nebraska 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 Nebraska have the highest disaster risk?
Douglas County, Lancaster County and Sarpy 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.