Safest places to live in Oklahoma
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.
Woodward County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 40 Oklahoma counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Texas County and Seminole County. At the other end, Oklahoma 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 77 counties ›20,453 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 65 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 29 federal declarations.2Texas County
21,380 people. Top hazard: Drought. 76 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.3Seminole County
23,530 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 61 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 31 federal declarations.4Beckham County
22,355 people. Top hazard: Tornado. 75 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.5Garvin County
25,643 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 69 tornadoes since 1950, 31 federal declarations.6Custer County
28,489 people. Top hazard: Tornado. 73 tornadoes since 1950, 30 federal declarations.7McClain County
41,569 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 84 tornadoes since 1950, 42 federal declarations.8Pontotoc County
37,975 people. Top hazard: Tornado. 73 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.9Caddo County
26,908 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 130 tornadoes since 1950, 42 federal declarations.10Stephens County
42,776 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 70 tornadoes since 1950, 33 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Washington County, 37,878 people2Muskogee
Muskogee County, 36,758 people3Enid
Garfield County, 50,653 people4Shawnee
Pottawatomie County, 31,671 people5Yukon
Canadian County, 25,529 people6Stillwater
Payne County, 49,269 people7Lawton
Comanche County, 90,595 people8Norman
Cleveland County, 129,672 people9Moore
Cleveland County, 63,420 people10Oklahoma City
Oklahoma County, 697,125 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. 141 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 49 federal declarations.2Tulsa County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 98 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 38 federal declarations.3Cleveland County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 113 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 42 federal declarations.4Comanche County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 65 tornadoes since 1950, 34 federal declarations.5Jackson County
Top hazard: Strong wind. 83 tornadoes since 1950, 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 Oklahoma from natural disasters?
Woodward County has the lowest overall risk score among Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma from natural disasters?
Bartlesville sits in Washington County, which has the lowest risk score of any Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma have the highest disaster risk?
Oklahoma County, Tulsa County and Cleveland 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.