28 FEMA areas

Earthquake Risk by City in California

Compare 111 cities using FEMA's relative earthquake scores and annualized frequency for the county-equivalent areas shown.

Highest relative score

100.0/100

Los Angeles County

Covered cities: Burbank, Carson, Compton, Downey, East Los Angeles, El Monte, Glendale, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, South Gate, Torrance, West Covina, and Whittier

Lowest relative score in this set

96.4/100

Placer County

Covered cities: Roseville

These are relative FEMA scores for county-equivalent areas. They are not annual probabilities or property-level findings.

California earthquake rankings

Cities sharing a FEMA area are grouped together and receive the same score.

Rank	FEMA area and cities	Rating	Score	Annualized frequency
#1	Los Angeles County Burbank Carson Compton Downey East Los Angeles El Monte Glendale Hawthorne Inglewood Lancaster Long Beach Los Angeles Norwalk Palmdale Pasadena Pomona Santa Clarita Santa Monica South Gate Torrance West Covina Whittier	Very High	100.0/100	0.98% per year
#2	Santa Clara County Gilroy Mountain View San Jose Santa Clara Sunnyvale	Very High	100.0/100	0.98% per year
#3	Alameda County Berkeley Fremont Hayward Livermore Oakland San Leandro	Very High	99.9/100	0.99% per year
#4	San Bernardino County Chino Fontana Hesperia Ontario Rancho Cucamonga Rialto San Bernardino Victorville	Very High	99.9/100	0.56% per year
#5	Orange County Anaheim Buena Park Costa Mesa Fullerton Garden Grove Huntington Beach Irvine Lake Forest Mission Viejo Newport Beach Orange Santa Ana Westminster	Very High	99.9/100	0.90% per year
#6	Riverside County Corona Hemet Indio Jurupa Valley Menifee Moreno Valley Murrieta Riverside Temecula	Very High	99.8/100	0.71% per year
#7	Contra Costa County Antioch Concord Richmond San Ramon	Very High	99.8/100	0.97% per year
#8	San Diego County Carlsbad Chula Vista El Cajon Escondido Oceanside San Diego San Marcos Vista	Relatively High	99.7/100	0.74% per year
#9	San Mateo County Daly City Redwood City San Mateo	Relatively High	99.7/100	0.96% per year
#10	Ventura County Oxnard San Buenaventura Simi Valley Thousand Oaks	Relatively High	99.7/100	0.84% per year
#11	San Francisco County San Francisco	Relatively High	99.7/100	1.21% per year
#12	Sonoma County Santa Rosa	Relatively High	99.6/100	0.90% per year
#13	Kern County Bakersfield	Relatively High	99.5/100	0.76% per year
#14	Monterey County Salinas Seaside	Relatively High	99.4/100	0.90% per year
#15	Solano County Fairfield Vacaville Vallejo	Relatively High	99.3/100	0.95% per year
#16	Santa Cruz County Santa Cruz	Relatively High	99.3/100	0.96% per year
#17	San Joaquin County Manteca Stockton Tracy	Relatively High	99.2/100	0.80% per year
#18	Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara Santa Maria	Relatively High	99.1/100	0.71% per year
#19	Fresno County Clovis Fresno	Relatively High	99.0/100	0.68% per year
#20	Sacramento County Arden-Arcade Citrus Heights Elk Grove Folsom Sacramento	Relatively High	99.0/100	0.65% per year
#21	Stanislaus County Modesto	Relatively High	98.8/100	0.78% per year
#22	Shasta County Redding	Relatively High	98.6/100	0.53% per year
#23	Merced County Merced	Relatively High	98.5/100	0.81% per year
#24	Butte County Chico	Relatively Moderate	98.3/100	0.52% per year
#25	Tulare County Visalia	Relatively Moderate	98.2/100	0.51% per year
#26	Sutter County Yuba City	Relatively Moderate	97.1/100	0.68% per year
#27	Madera County Madera	Relatively Moderate	96.5/100	0.53% per year
#28	Placer County Roseville	Relatively Moderate	96.4/100	0.50% per year

FEMA models earthquake annualized frequency as the probability of a qualifying occurrence in a given year across the FEMA geography shown.

Preparing for earthquake

Ready.gov Earthquakes ↗

For a home or move

✓Check whether your home has an unbraced cripple wall, an unbolted foundation, or an unsecured water heater; use a qualified local professional for retrofit decisions.
✓Review the earthquake exclusions, deductible, and temporary-living coverage in your insurance documents.
✓Use official state or local maps to check shaking, fault, and liquefaction information for the property; the FEMA geography does not contain parcel details.

For a household plan

✓Secure tall furniture and heavy objects that could fall where people sleep or sit.
✓Practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On and choose an out-of-area household contact.
✓Keep sturdy shoes, a flashlight, water, and essential medications accessible after shaking.

Questions about earthquake risk in California

Which covered California cities have the highest relative earthquake risk?

Burbank, Carson, Compton, Downey, East Los Angeles, El Monte, Glendale, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, South Gate, Torrance, West Covina, and Whittier use FEMA data for Los Angeles County, which has the highest relative earthquake score in this covered set at 100.0/100. Cities sharing the same FEMA area share the same score.

Which covered California area has the lowest relative earthquake score?

Placer County has the lowest score in this covered set at 96.4/100. This is a relative FEMA comparison, not a declaration that every property there is safe.

Are these earthquake figures city-level?

No. The city links provide geographic navigation, while the scores and frequencies cover the FEMA county-equivalent areas shown in the table. Address-level conditions require local maps and property details.

Is the FEMA relative score an annual probability?

No. The relative score compares FEMA areas on a 0–100 scale. Annualized frequency appears separately with hazard-specific units.

Related state and hazard pages

California Wildfire

Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.19.0, released March 2023. Hazard data covers FEMA county-equivalent areas.

FEMA source ↗Our methodology →