Safest places to live in Pennsylvania
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.
Clarion County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 61 Pennsylvania counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Juniata County and Wyoming County. At the other end, Philadelphia 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 67 counties ›37,191 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.2Juniata County
23,482 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 18 federal declarations.3Wyoming County
26,048 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 25 federal declarations.4Elk County
30,973 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 16 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.5Huntingdon County
44,088 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.6Clinton County
37,434 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.7Perry County
45,809 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 18 federal declarations.8Susquehanna County
38,411 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.9McKean County
40,379 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 11 federal declarations.10Snyder County
39,723 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 15 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Centre County, 41,050 people2Altoona
Blair County, 43,196 people3Williamsport
Lycoming County, 27,612 people4Lebanon
Lebanon County, 26,536 people5Erie
Erie County, 93,850 people6Scranton
Lackawanna County, 76,033 people7Easton
Northampton County, 29,739 people8York
York County, 44,938 people9Harrisburg
Dauphin County, 50,287 people10Wilkes-Barre
Luzerne County, 44,423 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. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 23 federal declarations.2Allegheny County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.3Montgomery County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 27 federal declarations.4Lancaster County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 39 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.5Bucks County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 25 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 Pennsylvania from natural disasters?
Clarion County has the lowest overall risk score among Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania from natural disasters?
State College sits in Centre County, which has the lowest risk score of any Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania have the highest disaster risk?
Philadelphia County, Allegheny County and Montgomery 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.