Earthquake Risk in Iowa

All Iowa counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index earthquake score

Earthquake risk — ground shaking from sudden movement along geologic faults — is rated for 99 of 99 Iowa counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Scott County carries the state's highest earthquake score at 75.1, with $1M in expected annual earthquake losses.

No Iowa county reaches the High band for earthquake, and expected annual losses from earthquake total roughly $8M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Earthquake

#CountyEarthquake ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Scott County
75.1
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
2 Polk County
66.8
Low 0.00 / yr $820K
3 Linn County
57.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $498K
4 Des Moines County
56.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $408K
5 Lee County
55.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $360K
6 Muscatine County
54.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $350K
7 Clinton County
45.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $220K
8 Johnson County
45.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $294K
9 Henry County
43.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $183K
10 Black Hawk County
39.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $167K
11 Jefferson County
38.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $114K
12 Wapello County
37.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $124K
13 Washington County
35.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $114K
14 Story County
34.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $142K
15 Davis County
33.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $68K
16 Appanoose County
31.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $70K
17 Van Buren County
31.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $67K
18 Dubuque County
31.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $153K
19 Marion County
30.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $108K
20 Woodbury County
30.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $84K
21 Louisa County
30.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $99K
22 Mahaska County
29.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $81K
23 Jasper County
28.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $74K
24 Marshall County
27.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $57K
25 Cedar County
27.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $93K
26 Pottawattamie County
26.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $63K
27 Jackson County
26.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $63K
28 Iowa County
26.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $60K
29 Dallas County
25.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $86K
30 Poweshiek County
25.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $54K
31 Delaware County
24.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $46K
32 Cerro Gordo County
24.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $40K
33 Union County
24.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $32K
34 Lucas County
24.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $34K
35 Keokuk County
21.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $39K
36 Tama County
21.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $29K
37 Jones County
21.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $50K
38 Page County
20.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $29K
39 Webster County
20.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $35K
40 Warren County
20.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $49K
41 Benton County
20.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $50K
42 Wayne County
20.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
43 Carroll County
19.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $32K
44 Hardin County
19.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $28K
45 Buena Vista County
19.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $26K
46 Sioux County
19.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $46K
47 Fayette County
19.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $24K
48 Decatur County
18.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $24K
49 Taylor County
18.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $20K
50 Madison County
17.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $21K
51 Hamilton County
17.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $25K
52 Wright County
16.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $21K
53 Buchanan County
16.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $32K
54 Boone County
16.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $35K
55 Cass County
16.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
56 Montgomery County
16.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $19K
57 Clarke County
14.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $23K
58 Calhoun County
14.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
59 Clayton County
14.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
60 Monroe County
14.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
61 Plymouth County
14.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
62 Bremer County
14.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $28K
63 Clay County
14.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
64 Monona County
14.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
65 Dickinson County
13.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
66 Fremont County
13.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
67 Adair County
12.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
68 Allamakee County
12.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
69 Chickasaw County
12.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $13K
70 Pocahontas County
11.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $13K
71 Harrison County
11.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $12K
72 Kossuth County
11.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $18K
73 Hancock County
11.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
74 Greene County
11.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $13K
75 Floyd County
11.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
76 Winnebago County
10.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
77 Cherokee County
10.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
78 Winneshiek County
10.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
79 Sac County
10.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $16K
80 Grundy County
10.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
81 Crawford County
9.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
82 O'Brien County
9.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
83 Guthrie County
9.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
84 Osceola County
9.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $8K
85 Butler County
9.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
86 Mills County
8.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $13K
87 Humboldt County
8.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
88 Ringgold County
8.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $12K
89 Adams County
8.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $9K
90 Shelby County
7.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $12K
91 Franklin County
7.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
92 Lyon County
7.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
93 Howard County
6.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
94 Audubon County
6.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $6K
95 Palo Alto County
6.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
96 Ida County
5.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $6K
97 Emmet County
5.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $5K
98 Worth County
4.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $7K
99 Mitchell County
4.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $6K

99 Iowa counties with measurable earthquake risk. See the national earthquake ranking or all Iowa counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Iowa county has the highest earthquake risk?

Scott County has the highest FEMA earthquake risk score in Iowa at 75.1 (Low), with $1M in expected annual losses and about 0.00 events per year.

How many Iowa counties face significant earthquake risk?

99 Iowa counties record measurable earthquake risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 0 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Iowa

Cold Wave Drought Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather