Earthquake Risk in North Carolina

All North Carolina counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index earthquake score

Earthquake risk — ground shaking from sudden movement along geologic faults — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Mecklenburg County carries the state's highest earthquake score at 93.2, with $11M in expected annual earthquake losses.

No North Carolina county reaches the High band for earthquake, and expected annual losses from earthquake total roughly $99M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Earthquake

#CountyEarthquake ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Mecklenburg County
93.2
Medium 0.00 / yr $11M
2 Robeson County
90.8
Medium 0.00 / yr $3M
3 Forsyth County
88.1
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
4 Wake County
87.8
Low 0.00 / yr $6M
5 Guilford County
87.8
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
6 Cumberland County
87.5
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
7 Catawba County
85.9
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
8 Gaston County
85.8
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
9 Buncombe County
85.4
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
10 Union County
85.0
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
11 Henderson County
84.6
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
12 Rowan County
83.0
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
13 Brunswick County
82.7
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
14 Columbus County
82.4
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
15 Durham County
81.9
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
16 Cleveland County
81.8
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
17 Scotland County
81.5
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
18 New Hanover County
81.0
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
19 Iredell County
79.8
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
20 Rutherford County
78.6
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
21 Randolph County
78.0
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
22 Cabarrus County
77.6
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
23 Caldwell County
77.6
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
24 Lincoln County
77.5
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
25 Davidson County
76.7
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
26 Moore County
75.7
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
27 Jackson County
74.4
Low 0.00 / yr $729K
28 Wilkes County
73.9
Low 0.00 / yr $716K
29 Wayne County
73.8
Low 0.00 / yr $796K
30 Cherokee County
73.7
Low 0.00 / yr $809K
31 Lenoir County
73.5
Low 0.00 / yr $679K
32 Sampson County
73.4
Low 0.00 / yr $638K
33 Alamance County
72.9
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
34 Nash County
72.4
Low 0.00 / yr $791K
35 Burke County
72.3
Low 0.00 / yr $738K
36 Richmond County
72.2
Low 0.00 / yr $673K
37 Haywood County
71.8
Low 0.00 / yr $759K
38 Pitt County
71.6
Low 0.00 / yr $866K
39 Lee County
70.2
Low 0.00 / yr $606K
40 Bladen County
70.1
Low 0.00 / yr $575K
41 Halifax County
69.8
Low 0.00 / yr $485K
42 Surry County
69.7
Low 0.00 / yr $645K
43 Macon County
69.6
Low 0.00 / yr $577K
44 Johnston County
69.4
Low 0.00 / yr $813K
45 Watauga County
68.9
Low 0.00 / yr $634K
46 Duplin County
68.6
Low 0.00 / yr $486K
47 Rockingham County
67.9
Low 0.00 / yr $578K
48 Wilson County
67.7
Low 0.00 / yr $593K
49 Onslow County
66.7
Low 0.00 / yr $834K
50 Harnett County
65.6
Low 0.00 / yr $674K
51 Orange County
64.9
Low 0.00 / yr $744K
52 Hoke County
64.9
Low 0.00 / yr $484K
53 Anson County
64.8
Low 0.00 / yr $378K
54 Stanly County
63.7
Low 0.00 / yr $601K
55 Swain County
63.4
Low 0.00 / yr $341K
56 Granville County
62.1
Low 0.00 / yr $492K
57 McDowell County
61.8
Low 0.00 / yr $408K
58 Transylvania County
61.6
Low 0.00 / yr $377K
59 Chatham County
61.3
Low 0.00 / yr $458K
60 Alexander County
59.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $314K
61 Person County
58.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $319K
62 Craven County
58.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $344K
63 Edgecombe County
57.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $271K
64 Vance County
56.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $273K
65 Pender County
55.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $385K
66 Warren County
55.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $227K
67 Davie County
55.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $365K
68 Yadkin County
54.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $286K
69 Montgomery County
54.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $262K
70 Franklin County
54.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $341K
71 Hertford County
53.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $214K
72 Stokes County
53.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $286K
73 Ashe County
52.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $220K
74 Yancey County
52.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $202K
75 Polk County
51.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $207K
76 Avery County
51.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $224K
77 Graham County
51.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $225K
78 Northampton County
49.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $159K
79 Beaufort County
48.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $186K
80 Clay County
47.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $142K
81 Madison County
47.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $247K
82 Greene County
47.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $150K
83 Bertie County
46.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $152K
84 Alleghany County
43.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $115K
85 Carteret County
42.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $162K
86 Mitchell County
42.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $146K
87 Pasquotank County
41.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $148K
88 Martin County
40.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $130K
89 Caswell County
38.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $114K
90 Washington County
36.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $80K
91 Pamlico County
32.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $69K
92 Jones County
32.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $55K
93 Chowan County
32.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $77K
94 Gates County
28.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $59K
95 Dare County
24.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $44K
96 Perquimans County
22.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $28K
97 Currituck County
22.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $53K
98 Hyde County
19.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $16K
99 Tyrrell County
19.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
100 Camden County
12.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $19K

100 North Carolina counties with measurable earthquake risk. See the national earthquake ranking or all North Carolina counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest earthquake risk?

Mecklenburg County has the highest FEMA earthquake risk score in North Carolina at 93.2 (Medium), with $11M in expected annual losses and about 0.00 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant earthquake risk?

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

Other Hazards in North Carolina

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