Which county in North Carolina has the lowest natural disaster risk?

Gaston has the lowest natural disaster risk in North Carolina, at 39.3.

What is the natural disaster risk in Gaston?

Gaston is ranked #1 in North Carolina for natural disaster risk, at 39.3.

What are the top counties in North Carolina for natural disaster risk?

Gaston (39.3), then Mecklenburg (42.0), and Buncombe (43.0). The full top 25 is in the table on this page.

How is this natural disaster risk ranking calculated?

Counties in North Carolina are ranked by natural disaster risk (FEMA National Risk Index, FEMA NRI v1.20), lowest first. Values describe the county, not an individual property. Source vintage is shown on the page.

How does North Carolina compare to the rest of the US for natural disaster risk?

This list is North Carolina only. See the national ranking of the lowest counties for natural disaster risk at hearthmap.app/best/lowest-natural-disaster-risk.

Lowest Natural Disaster Risk Counties in North Carolina (2026)

Lowest counties for natural disaster risk in North Carolina

Top 25 of 100 counties with data.

Ranked by natural disaster risk (FEMA National Risk Index, FEMA NRI v1.20), lowest first.

Lowest counties for natural disaster risk in North Carolina

Rank	County	Value
01	Gaston39.3 County page
02	Mecklenburg42.0 County page
03	Buncombe43.0 County page
04	Mitchell46.8 County page
05	Guilford47.9 County page
06	Madison48.3 County page
07	Haywood48.5 County page
08	Graham48.5 County page
09	Forsyth49.9 County page
10	Ashe50.2 County page
11	Avery50.2 County page
12	Watauga51.1 County page
13	Iredell52.5 County page
14	Surry53.0 County page
15	Henderson53.6 County page
16	Rutherford54.5 County page
17	Wake54.6 County page
18	Polk54.7 County page
19	Swain54.9 County page
20	Caldwell55.1 County page
21	Stokes55.3 County page
22	Transylvania55.4 County page
23	Orange56.2 County page
24	Catawba56.4 County page
25	Yancey57.6 County page

How this ranking works

This page ranks North Carolina counties by natural disaster risk, sorted so the lowest places appear first. Click any county to see its housing, schools, crime, and demographics in detail.

For natural disaster risk, a lower value is generally more favorable, so the top of the list is the lowest. Want to weigh natural disaster risk against schools, taxes, commute, and more at once? Use the live map to build a custom match.

Data comes from public sources. Source attribution and the exact data vintage are shown above and on the full map of natural disaster risk.

Frequently asked questions

Which county in North Carolina has the lowest natural disaster risk?: Gaston has the lowest natural disaster risk in North Carolina, at 39.3.
What is the natural disaster risk in Gaston?: Gaston is ranked #1 in North Carolina for natural disaster risk, at 39.3.
What are the top counties in North Carolina for natural disaster risk?: Gaston (39.3), then Mecklenburg (42.0), and Buncombe (43.0). The full top 25 is in the table on this page.
How is this natural disaster risk ranking calculated?: Counties in North Carolina are ranked by natural disaster risk (FEMA National Risk Index, FEMA NRI v1.20), lowest first. Values describe the county, not an individual property. Source vintage is shown on the page.
How does North Carolina compare to the rest of the US for natural disaster risk?: This list is North Carolina only. See the national ranking of the lowest counties for natural disaster risk at hearthmap.app/best/lowest-natural-disaster-risk.