Safest places to live in Washington
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.
Asotin County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 31 Washington counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Adams County and Whitman County. At the other end, King 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 39 counties ›22,285 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 11 federal declarations.2Adams County
20,588 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 8 federal declarations.3Whitman County
47,922 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.4Stevens County
46,368 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 21 federal declarations.5Walla Walla County
62,555 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 11 federal declarations.6Jefferson County
32,896 people. Top hazard: Earthquake. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 5 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 27 federal declarations.7Franklin County
96,653 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 1 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 9 federal declarations.8Klickitat County
22,707 people. Top hazard: Wildfire. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 27 federal declarations.9Douglas County
42,903 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 17 federal declarations.10Grant County
98,978 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 10 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Whitman County, 32,229 people2Walla Walla
Walla Walla County, 33,925 people3Pasco
Franklin County, 79,575 people4Moses Lake
Grant County, 26,083 people5Kennewick
Benton County, 85,295 people6Richland
Benton County, 62,753 people7Mount Vernon
Skagit County, 35,377 people8Spokane
Spokane County, 230,293 people9Spokane Valley
Spokane County, 106,365 people10Longview
Cowlitz County, 38,069 people
Cities with 25,000 or more people. The rating is for the county the city is in.
Highest-risk counties
Top hazard: Earthquake. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 8 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 33 federal declarations.2Pierce County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 9 tornadoes since 1950, 7 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 24 federal declarations.3Snohomish County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 5 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 35 federal declarations.4Grays Harbor County
Top hazard: Tsunami. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 4 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 32 federal declarations.5Thurston County
Top hazard: Earthquake. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 10 magnitude 5+ quakes nearby, 28 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 Washington from natural disasters?
Asotin County has the lowest overall risk score among Washington 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 Washington from natural disasters?
Pullman sits in Whitman County, which has the lowest risk score of any Washington 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 Washington have the highest disaster risk?
King County, Pierce County and Snohomish 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.