Safest places to live in South Carolina
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.
Edgefield County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 39 South Carolina counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Fairfield County and Chester County. At the other end, Charleston County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from hurricane. 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 46 counties ›25,644 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 21 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.2Fairfield County
20,909 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 33 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.3Chester County
32,263 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.4Abbeville County
24,291 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.5Barnwell County
20,573 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 25 tornadoes since 1950, 7 hurricanes within 65 miles, 25 federal declarations.6Marlboro County
26,656 people. Top hazard: Hurricane. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 7 hurricanes within 65 miles, 24 federal declarations.7Union County
27,226 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 21 federal declarations.8Newberry County
37,683 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 40 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.9Kershaw County
65,395 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 24 tornadoes since 1950, 5 hurricanes within 65 miles, 26 federal declarations.10Cherokee County
56,186 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 19 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Sumter County, 43,053 people2Aiken
Aiken County, 32,521 people3North Augusta
Aiken County, 25,653 people4Anderson
Anderson County, 30,051 people5Rock Hill
York County, 75,259 people6Fort Mill
York County, 30,775 people7Florence
Florence County, 40,408 people8Spartanburg
Spartanburg County, 38,910 people9Columbia
Richland County, 139,643 people10Greenville
Greenville County, 72,935 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Hurricane. 61 tornadoes since 1950, 29 hurricanes within 65 miles, 25 federal declarations.2Horry County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 60 tornadoes since 1950, 28 hurricanes within 65 miles, 32 federal declarations.3Beaufort County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 25 hurricanes within 65 miles, 22 federal declarations.4Berkeley County
Top hazard: Hurricane. 39 tornadoes since 1950, 23 hurricanes within 65 miles, 28 federal declarations.5Greenville County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 37 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 24 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 South Carolina from natural disasters?
Edgefield County has the lowest overall risk score among South Carolina 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 South Carolina from natural disasters?
Sumter sits in Sumter County, which has the lowest risk score of any South Carolina 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 South Carolina have the highest disaster risk?
Charleston County, Horry County and Beaufort 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.