Editorial guides
Risk Maps & Data guides
Source-backed Risk Maps & Data guidance for US homeowners — insurance, prep, and how to read a hazard page.
These guides explain where the numbers on HomeRiskMap come from and how far to trust them. Ratings are statewide, on a 1 to 5 scale, and built from public sources. One example is FEMA's OpenFEMA disaster declarations, which HomeRiskMap counts as distinct disaster numbers per state and hazard (OpenFEMA). A statewide rating can't tell you about a single lot. Flood zones, fire hazard zones and fault proximity all change over short distances.
Read how to read home risk ratings first, then how states are rated. The How we research page lists every data source and the update schedule. The safest-states ranking shows all states side by side.
