Safest places to live in North Carolina
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.
Currituck County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 80 North Carolina counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Caswell County and Madison County. At the other end, Mecklenburg 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 100 counties ›28,088 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 25 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.2Caswell County
22,714 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 23 federal declarations.3Madison County
21,147 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 21 federal declarations.4Yadkin County
37,209 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 19 federal declarations.5Stokes County
44,503 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 23 federal declarations.6Person County
39,080 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 25 federal declarations.7Davie County
42,692 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 20 federal declarations.8Alexander County
36,437 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 17 federal declarations.9Vance County
42,564 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.10Montgomery County
25,722 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Lee County, 31,478 people2Wilson
Wilson County, 48,370 people3Rocky Mount
Nash County, 54,297 people4Hickory
Catawba County, 44,258 people5Asheboro
Randolph County, 27,580 people6Mooresville
Iredell County, 52,381 people7Statesville
Iredell County, 29,894 people8Salisbury
Rowan County, 35,825 people9Gastonia
Gaston County, 82,884 people10Concord
Cabarrus County, 108,719 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. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 16 federal declarations.2New Hanover County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 33 tornadoes since 1950, 37 hurricanes within 65 miles, 30 federal declarations.3Brunswick County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 45 tornadoes since 1950, 35 hurricanes within 65 miles, 33 federal declarations.4Wake County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 40 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 24 federal declarations.5Onslow County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 50 tornadoes since 1950, 37 hurricanes within 65 miles, 28 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 North Carolina from natural disasters?
Currituck County has the lowest overall risk score among North Carolina 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 North Carolina from natural disasters?
Sanford sits in Lee County, which has the lowest risk score of any North Carolina 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 North Carolina have the highest disaster risk?
Mecklenburg County, New Hanover County and Brunswick 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.