Safest places to live in New Hampshire
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.
Sullivan County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 10 New Hampshire counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Belknap County and Cheshire County. At the other end, Hillsborough 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 10 counties ›43,048 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 31 federal declarations.2Belknap County
63,653 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 28 federal declarations.3Cheshire County
76,445 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 31 federal declarations.4Strafford County
130,861 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 23 federal declarations.5Carroll County
50,016 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 34 federal declarations.6Coos County
31,248 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 26 federal declarations.7Merrimack County
153,727 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 27 federal declarations.8Grafton County
91,072 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 38 federal declarations.9Rockingham County
314,137 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 5 hurricanes within 65 miles, 33 federal declarations.10Hillsborough County
422,867 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 29 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Strafford County, 33,364 people2Rochester
Strafford County, 33,144 people3Concord
Merrimack County, 44,375 people4Manchester
Hillsborough County, 115,643 people5Nashua
Hillsborough County, 91,294 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. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 29 federal declarations.2Rockingham County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 5 hurricanes within 65 miles, 33 federal declarations.3Grafton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 38 federal declarations.4Merrimack County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 27 federal declarations.5Coos County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 26 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 New Hampshire from natural disasters?
Sullivan County has the lowest overall risk score among New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire from natural disasters?
Dover sits in Strafford County, which has the lowest risk score of any New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire have the highest disaster risk?
Hillsborough County, Rockingham County and Grafton 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.