With Hurricane Milton heading toward Florida and swaths of the South still reeling in the wake of Hurricane Helene, many might be wondering: Is any place truly safe from extreme weather?
Indeed, natural disasters have already caused more than $25 billion in damage this year.
And the Realtor.com 2024 Housing and Climate Risk report found that 44.8% of U.S. homes are at risk for extreme weather exposure, including extreme heat, wind, flood, and wildfires.
These threats don’t just impinge on people’s quality of life; they also affect housing prices and home insurance rates.
Sun Belt states are among the most disaster-prone spots in the country, and it shows in their high insurance premiums. Mississippi—which experienced major flooding this past spring—has insurance rates that are 30% above the national average, and Florida’s home insurance rates are four times the national average.
Research from the First Street Foundation estimates that 3.2 million people have become “climate migrants” who are creating “climate abandonment areas” due to extreme weather conditions.
“There appears to be clear winners and losers in regard to the impact of flood risk on neighborhood-level population change,” Jeremy Porter, the foundation’s head of climate implications research, said in a statement. “The downstream implications of this are massive and impact property values, neighborhood composition, and commercial viability both positively and negatively.”
To help prospective buyers consider current environmental realities, Realtor.com created property-specific environmental risk scores for listings that allow users to assess the risk of hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires.
“Prospective homeowners can leverage these scores to evaluate climate-related risks across various locations, helping them identify ‘safer’ areas before making their final decision,” says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Yu. “Living in areas with a low risk of natural disasters offers numerous benefits to homeowners, including reduced risk of property damage, lower insurance costs, and a more stable local economy. This can contribute to a more secure, stable, and fulfilling lifestyle. Choosing to reside in areas with low natural disaster risk can help mitigate these concerns.”
Realtor.com also ranked the safest cities to live in around the country based on the share of homes that face minimal or minor hurricane, flood, or fire damage risk.
In case you’re curious where these safer-than-average havens are hiding, read on.
Akron, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 91.1%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $55.4 billion
Cleveland, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 89.3%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $163.5 billion
Seattle, WA
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 88.4%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $784.2 billion
Columbus, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 87.7%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $197.6 billion
Cincinnati, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 87.7%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $199.3 billion
Dayton, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 87.2%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $57.8 billion
Indianapolis, IN
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 86.9%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $190.1 billion
Pittsburgh, PA
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 84.7%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $183.3 billion
Toledo, OH
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 83.6%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $41 billion
Grand Rapids, MI
Share of homes at the lowest risk: 82.2%
Total value of properties at the lowest risk: $93.4 billion