Safest places to live in Tennessee
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.
Grainger County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 65 Tennessee counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Morgan County and Overton County. At the other end, Shelby 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 95 counties ›23,527 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.2Morgan County
21,024 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.3Overton County
22,498 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 14 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.4DeKalb County
20,068 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 18 federal declarations.5Scott County
21,840 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.6Macon County
25,211 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.7White County
27,325 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 20 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.8Claiborne County
32,028 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.9Jefferson County
54,645 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 19 federal declarations.10Marshall County
34,318 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 20 tornadoes since 1950, 15 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Hamblen County, 31,527 people2Cookeville
Putnam County, 36,088 people3Johnson City
Sullivan County, 72,222 people4Kingsport
Sullivan County, 56,262 people5Bristol
Sullivan County, 27,636 people6Oak Ridge
Anderson County, 32,693 people7Cleveland
Bradley County, 48,829 people8Maryville
Blount County, 32,392 people9Columbia
Maury County, 45,441 people10Lebanon
Wilson County, 44,788 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Earthquake. 56 tornadoes since 1950, 26 federal declarations.2Davidson County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 53 tornadoes since 1950, 25 federal declarations.3Hamilton County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 27 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.4Knox County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.5Madison County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 35 tornadoes since 1950, 22 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 Tennessee from natural disasters?
Grainger County has the lowest overall risk score among Tennessee 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 Tennessee from natural disasters?
Morristown sits in Hamblen County, which has the lowest risk score of any Tennessee 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 Tennessee have the highest disaster risk?
Shelby County, Davidson County and Hamilton 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.