Safest places to live in Ohio
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.
Wyandot County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 82 Ohio counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Carroll County and Van Wert County. At the other end, Franklin 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 88 counties ›21,893 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.2Carroll County
26,701 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 9 federal declarations.3Van Wert County
28,929 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 42 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 11 federal declarations.4Morrow County
34,943 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.5Hardin County
30,690 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 10 federal declarations.6Madison County
43,789 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.7Fayette County
28,951 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 9 federal declarations.8Perry County
35,327 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.9Champaign County
38,673 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 9 federal declarations.10Mercer County
42,522 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 12 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Union County, 27,518 people2Findlay
Hancock County, 40,287 people3Marion
Marion County, 35,669 people4Mansfield
Richland County, 47,663 people5Troy
Miami County, 26,842 people6Wooster
Wayne County, 26,971 people7Kent
Portage County, 27,116 people8Bowling Green
Wood County, 29,983 people9Perrysburg
Wood County, 25,181 people10Brunswick
Medina County, 35,246 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. 40 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.2Cuyahoga County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 16 federal declarations.3Hamilton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 18 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.4Montgomery County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 11 federal declarations.5Lucas County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 13 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 Ohio from natural disasters?
Wyandot County has the lowest overall risk score among Ohio 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 Ohio from natural disasters?
Marysville sits in Union County, which has the lowest risk score of any Ohio 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 Ohio have the highest disaster risk?
Franklin County, Cuyahoga County and Hamilton 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.