Safest places to live in North Dakota
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.
Slope County has the lowest natural disaster risk in North Dakota, followed by Billings County and Burke County. At the other end, Burleigh 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 53 counties ›699 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.2Billings County
945 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.3Burke County
2,201 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 28 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.4Renville County
2,282 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.5Oliver County
1,874 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.6Eddy County
2,347 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.7Towner County
2,161 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 32 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.8Bowman County
2,993 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 11 federal declarations.9Kidder County
2,383 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 20 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.10Pierce County
3,976 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Stark County, 25,357 people2Williston
Williams County, 28,056 people3Grand Forks
Grand Forks County, 59,042 people4Minot
Ward County, 47,791 people5Fargo
Cass County, 131,627 people6West Fargo
Cass County, 40,094 people7Bismarck
Burleigh County, 75,556 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. 57 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.2Cass County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 109 tornadoes since 1950, 33 federal declarations.3Ward County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 57 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.4Sioux County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.5Grand Forks County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 92 tornadoes since 1950, 36 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 Dakota from natural disasters?
Slope County has the lowest overall risk score in North Dakota, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is cold wave.
What is the safest city in North Dakota from natural disasters?
Dickinson sits in Stark County, which has the lowest risk score of any North Dakota 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 Dakota have the highest disaster risk?
Burleigh County, Cass County and Ward 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.