Landslide Risk in North Carolina

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

Landslide risk — downhill movement of rock, soil, and debris on unstable slopes — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Macon County carries the state's highest landslide score at 99.8, with $3M in expected annual landslide losses.

5 North Carolina counties are rated High or Very High for landslide, and expected annual losses from landslide total roughly $9M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Landslide

#CountyLandslide ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Macon County
99.8
High 1.92 / yr $3M
2 Buncombe County
98.9
High 2.10 / yr $1M
3 Watauga County
98.8
High 0.96 / yr $1M
4 Polk County
98.3
High 0.65 / yr $512K
5 Haywood County
98.1
High 2.02 / yr $545K
6 Swain County
97.8
Medium 2.26 / yr $305K
7 Cherokee County
97.1
Medium 2.00 / yr $230K
8 Avery County
96.9
Medium 0.77 / yr $205K
9 Jackson County
96.7
Medium 1.84 / yr $162K
10 Yancey County
96.7
Medium 1.05 / yr $164K
11 McDowell County
96.1
Medium 1.33 / yr $143K
12 Madison County
95.6
Medium 1.65 / yr $155K
13 Henderson County
95.3
Medium 0.87 / yr $112K
14 Mitchell County
94.5
Medium 0.74 / yr $96K
15 Graham County
94.0
Medium 1.37 / yr $79K
16 Ashe County
93.5
Medium 1.35 / yr $67K
17 Transylvania County
93.1
Medium 1.18 / yr $66K
18 Clay County
91.8
Medium 0.78 / yr $41K
19 Caldwell County
90.5
Medium 1.28 / yr $56K
20 Alleghany County
90.2
Medium 0.69 / yr $34K
21 Rutherford County
86.0
Low 1.26 / yr $26K
22 Burke County
79.7
Low 1.32 / yr $12K
23 Wilkes County
75.8
Low 2.01 / yr $7K
24 Surry County
75.2
Low 1.21 / yr $8K
25 Mecklenburg County
71.7
Low 0.39 / yr $8K
26 Forsyth County
71.3
Low 0.54 / yr $7K
27 Wake County
71.1
Low 0.44 / yr $11K
28 Stokes County
67.7
Low 0.98 / yr $4K
29 Randolph County
65.9
Low 0.80 / yr $4K
30 Rockingham County
63.9
Low 0.73 / yr $3K
31 Davidson County
63.6
Low 0.51 / yr $3K
32 Iredell County
63.0
Low 0.62 / yr $4K
33 Guilford County
62.9
Low 0.38 / yr $3K
34 Catawba County
62.5
Low 0.44 / yr $3K
35 Johnston County
60.1
Very Low 0.16 / yr $3K
36 Gaston County
57.1
Very Low 0.39 / yr $2K
37 Alexander County
56.8
Very Low 0.48 / yr $2K
38 Cumberland County
56.4
Very Low 0.13 / yr $2K
39 Cleveland County
53.7
Very Low 0.54 / yr $2K
40 Cabarrus County
52.3
Very Low 0.28 / yr $2K
41 Montgomery County
51.4
Very Low 0.58 / yr $1K
42 Chatham County
48.2
Very Low 0.34 / yr $1K
43 Lincoln County
47.8
Very Low 0.28 / yr $1K
44 Caswell County
47.7
Very Low 0.63 / yr $949
45 Yadkin County
46.3
Very Low 0.41 / yr $869
46 Durham County
45.6
Very Low 0.17 / yr $1K
47 Harnett County
45.3
Very Low 0.17 / yr $1K
48 Orange County
41.7
Very Low 0.17 / yr $911
49 Halifax County
39.9
Very Low 0.14 / yr $407
50 Union County
38.8
Very Low 0.27 / yr $848
51 Onslow County
38.6
Very Low 0.12 / yr $742
52 Stanly County
38.6
Very Low 0.37 / yr $636
53 Moore County
37.2
Very Low 0.36 / yr $537
54 Pitt County
36.0
Very Low 0.09 / yr $475
55 Rowan County
35.9
Very Low 0.27 / yr $466
56 Anson County
34.2
Very Low 0.35 / yr $268
57 Person County
33.7
Very Low 0.24 / yr $310
58 Craven County
32.8
Very Low 0.10 / yr $320
59 Nash County
32.1
Very Low 0.11 / yr $307
60 Wayne County
31.5
Very Low 0.09 / yr $264
61 Brunswick County
30.9
Very Low 0.13 / yr $259
62 Davie County
30.4
Very Low 0.23 / yr $324
63 Sampson County
29.9
Very Low 0.15 / yr $195
64 Alamance County
29.7
Very Low 0.20 / yr $336
65 Beaufort County
29.0
Very Low 0.11 / yr $213
66 Carteret County
28.7
Very Low 0.06 / yr $260
67 Bladen County
28.5
Very Low 0.14 / yr $200
68 Pender County
27.1
Very Low 0.12 / yr $244
69 Lee County
26.6
Very Low 0.15 / yr $173
70 Richmond County
25.9
Very Low 0.21 / yr $154
71 Granville County
25.0
Very Low 0.21 / yr $184
72 Vance County
24.6
Very Low 0.17 / yr $130
73 Northampton County
24.0
Very Low 0.09 / yr $102
74 Robeson County
23.0
Very Low 0.15 / yr $91
75 Warren County
22.6
Very Low 0.20 / yr $93
76 Hertford County
21.9
Very Low 0.07 / yr $90
77 Dare County
20.7
Very Low 0.04 / yr $124
78 Duplin County
20.4
Very Low 0.12 / yr $81
79 Franklin County
19.6
Very Low 0.17 / yr $110
80 Martin County
19.4
Very Low 0.07 / yr $92
81 Hoke County
19.4
Very Low 0.08 / yr $88
82 Edgecombe County
19.3
Very Low 0.08 / yr $74
83 New Hanover County
19.0
Very Low 0.03 / yr $126
84 Bertie County
19.0
Very Low 0.10 / yr $70
85 Lenoir County
18.3
Very Low 0.06 / yr $64
86 Wilson County
17.9
Very Low 0.05 / yr $77
87 Pamlico County
15.1
Very Low 0.04 / yr $46
88 Columbus County
14.5
Very Low 0.14 / yr $38
89 Scotland County
11.9
Very Low 0.06 / yr $22
90 Greene County
10.1
Very Low 0.04 / yr $18
91 Currituck County
10.0
Very Low 0.03 / yr $43
92 Jones County
9.8
Very Low 0.07 / yr $16
93 Perquimans County
8.0
Very Low 0.03 / yr $14
94 Washington County
7.0
Very Low 0.04 / yr $9
95 Chowan County
6.9
Very Low 0.02 / yr $12
96 Pasquotank County
5.3
Very Low 0.03 / yr $7
97 Gates County
5.2
Very Low 0.05 / yr $7
98 Tyrrell County
3.2
Very Low 0.04 / yr $2
99 Camden County
2.1
Very Low 0.03 / yr $3
100 Hyde County
1.9
Very Low 0.06 / yr $1

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest landslide risk?

Macon County has the highest FEMA landslide risk score in North Carolina at 99.8 (High), with $3M in expected annual losses and about 1.92 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant landslide risk?

100 North Carolina counties record measurable landslide risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 5 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in North Carolina

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