Safest places to live in Oregon
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.
Jefferson County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 27 Oregon counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Hood River County and Crook County. At the other end, Multnomah County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from earthquake. 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 36 counties ›24,472 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.2Hood River County
23,966 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 2 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 15 federal declarations.3Crook County
24,712 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.4Malheur County
31,546 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 5 federal declarations.5Union County
26,166 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.6Wasco County
26,599 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.7Columbia County
52,498 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 18 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 14 federal declarations.8Polk County
87,390 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 13 federal declarations.9Klamath County
69,248 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 16 federal declarations.10Tillamook County
27,318 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Yamhill County, 34,596 people2Newberg
Yamhill County, 26,066 people3Corvallis
Benton County, 59,960 people4Bend
Deschutes County, 103,390 people5Redmond
Deschutes County, 36,092 people6Albany
Linn County, 56,839 people7Grants Pass
Josephine County, 39,311 people8Medford
Jackson County, 86,315 people9Oregon City
Clackamas County, 37,755 people10West Linn
Clackamas County, 26,935 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Earthquake. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 17 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 10 federal declarations.2Lane County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.3Washington County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 15 federal declarations.4Marion County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 3 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 13 federal declarations.5Clatsop County
Top hazard: Tsunami. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 16 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 Oregon from natural disasters?
Jefferson County has the lowest overall risk score among Oregon 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 Oregon from natural disasters?
McMinnville sits in Yamhill County, which has the lowest risk score of any Oregon 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 Oregon have the highest disaster risk?
Multnomah County, Lane County and Washington 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.