Top counties by earthquake risk
Earthquake risk reflects expected annual losses from ground shaking. High scores concentrate in California, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and the New Madrid Seismic Zone (spanning Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and neighboring states). NOAA's Storm Events Database does not track earthquakes, so recorded event counts are not shown.
3,144 counties scored 8 rated Very High Showing top 50
| # | County | State | NRI score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alameda County | CA | 100 | Very High |
| 2 | Los Angeles County | CA | 100 | Very High |
| 3 | Orange County | CA | 99.9 | Very High |
| 4 | Santa Clara County | CA | 99.9 | Very High |
| 5 | King County | WA | 99.9 | Very High |
| 6 | Riverside County | CA | 99.8 | Very High |
| 7 | San Bernardino County | CA | 99.8 | Very High |
| 8 | San Francisco County | CA | 99.8 | Very High |
| 9 | Contra Costa County | CA | 99.7 | Relatively High |
| 10 | San Diego County | CA | 99.7 | Relatively High |
| 11 | San Mateo County | CA | 99.7 | Relatively High |
| 12 | Ventura County | CA | 99.7 | Relatively High |
| 13 | Multnomah County | OR | 99.6 | Relatively High |
| 14 | Salt Lake County | UT | 99.6 | Relatively High |
| 15 | Pierce County | WA | 99.6 | Relatively High |
| 16 | Anchorage Municipality | AK | 99.5 | Relatively High |
| 17 | Sonoma County | CA | 99.5 | Relatively High |
| 18 | Shelby County | TN | 99.5 | Relatively High |
| 19 | Kern County | CA | 99.4 | Relatively High |
| 20 | Monterey County | CA | 99.4 | Relatively High |
| 21 | Santa Barbara County | CA | 99.4 | Relatively High |
| 22 | San Joaquin County | CA | 99.3 | Relatively High |
| 23 | Santa Cruz County | CA | 99.3 | Relatively High |
| 24 | Snohomish County | WA | 99.3 | Relatively High |
| 25 | Fresno County | CA | 99.2 | Relatively High |
| 26 | Imperial County | CA | 99.2 | Relatively High |
| 27 | Washoe County | NV | 99.2 | Relatively High |
| 28 | Hawaii County | HI | 99.1 | Relatively High |
| 29 | Clark County | NV | 99.1 | Relatively High |
| 30 | Marion County | OR | 99.1 | Relatively High |
| 31 | Humboldt County | CA | 99 | Relatively High |
| 32 | Solano County | CA | 99 | Relatively High |
| 33 | St. Louis County | MO | 99 | Relatively High |
| 34 | Washington County | OR | 99 | Relatively High |
| 35 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | AK | 98.9 | Relatively High |
| 36 | Sacramento County | CA | 98.9 | Relatively High |
| 37 | Thurston County | WA | 98.9 | Relatively High |
| 38 | Lane County | OR | 98.8 | Relatively High |
| 39 | Charleston County | SC | 98.8 | Relatively High |
| 40 | Utah County | UT | 98.8 | Relatively High |
| 41 | Kenai Peninsula Borough | AK | 98.7 | Relatively High |
| 42 | Marin County | CA | 98.7 | Relatively High |
| 43 | Kitsap County | WA | 98.7 | Relatively High |
| 44 | Honolulu County | HI | 98.6 | Relatively High |
| 45 | Kings County | NY | 98.6 | Relatively High |
| 46 | Clackamas County | OR | 98.6 | Relatively High |
| 47 | Merced County | CA | 98.5 | Relatively High |
| 48 | Stanislaus County | CA | 98.5 | Relatively High |
| 49 | St. Louis | MO | 98.5 | Relatively High |
| 50 | Yuma County | AZ | 98.4 | Relatively High |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties — a score of 95 means this county's expected annual loss from earthquake exceeds 95% of all other counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all 3,144 scored counties.
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