Safest places to live in West 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.
Preston County has the lowest natural disaster risk of the 31 West Virginia counties with 20,000 or more people, followed by Hampshire County and Hancock County. At the other end, Kanawha 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 55 counties ›34,212 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 13 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.2Hampshire County
23,087 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.3Hancock County
29,091 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.4Upshur County
23,791 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 1 tornadoes since 1950, 20 federal declarations.5Jefferson County
57,431 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 7 tornadoes since 1950, 2 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.6Mineral County
26,925 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 2 tornadoes since 1950, 1 hurricanes within 65 miles, 17 federal declarations.7Fayette County
40,383 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 5 tornadoes since 1950, 24 federal declarations.8Brooke County
22,549 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.9Jackson County
27,774 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 22 federal declarations.10Marshall County
30,591 people. Top hazard: Inland flooding. 3 tornadoes since 1950, 23 federal declarations.
Lowest-risk cities
All cities ›Ohio County, 26,350 people2Morgantown
Monongalia County, 30,236 people3Parkersburg
Wood County, 29,240 people4Huntington
Cabell County, 45,787 people5Charleston
Kanawha County, 47,421 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. 15 tornadoes since 1950, 32 federal declarations.2Cabell County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 4 tornadoes since 1950, 29 federal declarations.3Wood County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 10 tornadoes since 1950, 16 federal declarations.4Wayne County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 6 tornadoes since 1950, 31 federal declarations.5Logan County
Top hazard: Inland flooding. 0 tornadoes since 1950, 33 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 West Virginia from natural disasters?
Preston County has the lowest overall risk score among West 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 West Virginia from natural disasters?
Wheeling sits in Ohio County, which has the lowest risk score of any West 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 West Virginia have the highest disaster risk?
Kanawha County, Cabell County and Wood 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.