Safest places to live in Virginia
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.
Fairfax City has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 81 Virginia counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Fredericksburg City and Greene County. At the other end, Fairfax 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 133 counties ›24,146 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 15 federal declarations.2Fredericksburg City
27,967 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 17 federal declarations.3Greene County
20,552 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 24 federal declarations.4Waynesboro City
22,195 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 13 federal declarations.5Staunton City
25,738 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 12 federal declarations.6King George County
26,676 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 8 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 25 federal declarations.7Fluvanna County
27,249 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 21 federal declarations.8Prince George County
42,930 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 6 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.9New Kent County
22,940 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 4 hurricanes within 65 miles, 20 federal declarations.10Goochland County
24,727 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 3 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 19 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Fairfax City, 25,026 people2Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg City, 28,873 people3Staunton
Staunton City, 25,948 people4Manassas
Manassas City, 42,976 people5Winchester
Winchester City, 27,913 people6Petersburg
Petersburg City, 33,537 people7Salem
Salem City, 25,618 people8Charlottesville
Charlottesville City, 45,437 people9Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg City, 51,392 people10Blacksburg
Montgomery County, 45,446 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. 22 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.2Chesterfield County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 17 tornadoes since 1950, 5 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 23 federal declarations.3Henrico County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 11 tornadoes since 1950, 6 hurricanes within 65 miles, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 20 federal declarations.4Prince William County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 18 federal declarations.5Norfolk City
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 12 tornadoes since 1950, 14 hurricanes within 65 miles, 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 Virginia from natural disasters?
Fairfax City has the lowest overall risk score among Virginia 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 Virginia from natural disasters?
Fairfax sits in Fairfax City, which has the lowest risk score of any Virginia 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 Virginia have the highest disaster risk?
Fairfax County, Chesterfield County and Henrico 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.