Safest places to live in South Dakota
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.
Jones County has the lowest natural disaster risk in South Dakota, followed by Harding County and Perkins County. At the other end, Minnehaha County carries the highest risk in the state, mostly from tornado. 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 66 counties ›917 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.2Harding County
1,311 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.3Perkins County
2,834 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 45 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.4Miner County
2,298 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 35 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.5Sanborn County
2,329 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.6Campbell County
1,375 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.7Clark County
3,828 people. Top hazard: Cold wave. 37 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.8Stanley County
2,972 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 13 federal declarations.9Mellette County
1,879 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 12 federal declarations.10Bennett County
3,380 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 31 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 13 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Brown County, 28,189 people2Rapid City
Pennington County, 77,946 people3Sioux Falls
Minnehaha County, 201,469 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Tornado. 48 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.2Dewey County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 14 federal declarations.3Pennington County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 49 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.4Brown County
Top hazard: Cold wave. 84 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.5Yankton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 29 tornadoes since 1950, 14 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 Dakota from natural disasters?
Jones County has the lowest overall risk score in South Dakota, rated very low by FEMA's National Risk Index. Its biggest remaining hazard is inland flooding.
What is the safest city in South Dakota from natural disasters?
Aberdeen sits in Brown County, which has the lowest risk score of any South Dakota 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 Dakota have the highest disaster risk?
Minnehaha County, Dewey County and Pennington 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.