Let’s face it: No matter where you choose to live, there’s a chance you could experience a disaster. However, some areas are more dangerous than others, especially when it comes to The Golden State.
When you think about the most disaster-prone cities in California, there’s a lot to consider. The state is synonymous with earthquakes, wildfires, droughts, landslides, and high winds. These are such a concern that people often consider natural disasters when they decide to move to or from this popular state.
As you’ll see from the data presented in this article, many disaster-prone cities have their own risks. For instance, the city of Santa Clara has high FEMA risk scores regarding the potential of earthquakes, high heat, and landslides. In El Centro, there are extreme issues to consider, including an increased risk of earthquakes, heat waves, and a moderate potential for drought. Even in a city like Mountain View, a bastion of class and beauty, some risks include earthquakes, landslides, and wildfires. Needless to say, you really need to weigh your pros and cons before choosing a new place to call home.
In many cases, the risk potential is enough to make many people move out of the city to find safer pastures. Such is the case with Banning, which had close to a 3% population decline since 2017, or Cathedral City, which saw a 3.3% decline. All in all, there’s a lot to think about, whether you already live in California or you’re thinking of moving into the state. Whatever you do, we hope you consider the facts and stay safe. (For similar reading, here’s a look at the 20 most powerful earthquakes in recorded history .)
Methodology
To determine the most disaster-prone cities in California, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on natural hazard risk for U.S. census tracts from the March 2023 FEMA National Risk Index dataset. Cities were ranked based on the average National Risk Index score – a composite risk score of 18 natural hazards: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, earthquake, hail, heat wave, hurricane, ice storm, landslide, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, and winter weather – for all census tracts within their borders. Data were aggregated from the census tract level to the city level using spatial boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau’s TIGER/Line program. Supplemental data on the total value of all owner-occupied homes and populations are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Only places with at least 25,000 residents were considered.
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.4/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $2.9 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -4.7%
- Total population: 42,279
Source: yhelfman / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $8.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -2.1%
- Total population: 37,093
Source: Robert_Ford / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +5.1%
- Total population: 44,461
Source: Meghan Bennett / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $14.9 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.9%
- Total population: 25,310
Source: Jennifer Muedder / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $47.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +1.2%
- Total population: 67,901
Source: GerardoBrucker / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.8/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $31.1 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.7%
- Total population: 128,058
Source: SpVVK / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 91.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $27.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.6%
- Total population: 82,132
Source: AlessandraRC / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.0/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $2.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +3.9%
- Total population: 31,907
Source: Jennifer Wan / Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.1/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $23.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.2%
- Total population: 87,154
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.2/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $14.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +3.1%
- Total population: 176,326
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.3/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $28.6 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.8%
- Total population: 30,771
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.4/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $16.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -2.3%
- Total population: 65,596
Source: Jeff Shotwell / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.3 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -3.3%
- Total population: 51,964
Source: pbk-pg / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.8/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $11.6 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +5.0%
- Total population: 45,291
Source: Natalia Leen / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $6.8 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +12.5%
- Total population: 69,993
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 92.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $12.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.3%
- Total population: 40,357
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.0/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $8.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +12.4%
- Total population: 47,099
Source: Feifei Cui-Paoluzzo / Moment via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.0/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $1.6 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -3.4%
- Total population: 38,599
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.4/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +18.6%
- Total population: 29,759
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.4/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $26.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.5%
- Total population: 83,077
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $19.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.0%
- Total population: 33,324
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $63.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.9%
- Total population: 228,795
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $9.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.5%
- Total population: 34,504
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $4.3 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.9%
- Total population: 52,457
Source: Velvetfish / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 93.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $13.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +6.2%
- Total population: 115,619
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.1/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $3.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +40.8%
- Total population: 29,633
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $8.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +3.5%
- Total population: 73,234
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $7.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +1.1%
- Total population: 103,873
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.8/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $9.9 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +6.3%
- Total population: 91,008
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $18.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.9%
- Total population: 77,565
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $11.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.7%
- Total population: 221,041
Source: Andrei Stanescu / Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 94.9/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $18.4 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +4.8%
- Total population: 79,092
Source: Todd Sanchez / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.0/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $13.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.2%
- Total population: 89,723
Source: HadelProductions / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.3/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.1 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +11.1%
- Total population: 28,227
Source: BZK Photos / Shutterstock.com
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.3/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $4.6 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +3.8%
- Total population: 56,789
Source: David Toussaint / Moment Open via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $3.4 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.4%
- Total population: 53,959
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $10.1 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +8.4%
- Total population: 58,696
Source: magaro / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $3.8 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +15.2%
- Total population: 54,077
Source: (c) Salil Bhatt / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 95.8/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $28.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -0.8%
- Total population: 78,691
Source: Solidago / Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 96.3/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.8 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.4%
- Total population: 54,428
Source: hlehnerer / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 96.4/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $2.4 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +1.5%
- Total population: 30,788
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 96.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $22.3 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.3%
- Total population: 160,602
Source: yhelfman / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 96.8/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $19.9 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +24.6%
- Total population: 71,068
Source: Derek_Neumann / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 97.5/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $4.8 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +13.2%
- Total population: 42,093
Source: MattGush / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 97.6/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $2.3 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -2.9%
- Total population: 29,929
Source: travelview / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 97.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $11.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +4.2%
- Total population: 47,470
Source: Jacob Boomsma / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 97.7/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $1.2 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +2.1%
- Total population: 26,509
Source: Janine Moore-Williams / iStock via Getty Images
- FEMA National Risk Index score: 98.1/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $2.0 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: -1.9%
- Total population: 26,519
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- FEMA National Risk Index score: 98.2/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $5.5 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +22.7%
- Total population: 53,544
Aerial View of Downtown El Centro, California in the Imperial Valley (
Shutterstock.com ) by
Jacob Boomsma - FEMA National Risk Index score: 98.3/100
- Total value of owner-occupied homes: $1.7 billion
- Population change, 2017 to 2022: +0.6%
- Total population: 44,184
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