A new report has revealed the 10 US cities that are most vulnerable to earthquake damage in 2025, and the list may surprise you. 

Home Gnome, a home services booking company, evaluated 206 of the largest US counties based on earthquake risk, the median age of homes, the number of dams in the area and other metrics to assess their impact risk.

They calculated a risk score for each county (out of 100 points) and ranked them from least vulnerable to most vulnerable. 

Some places on the list are unexpected, including parts of Tennessee and Oklahoma — two states that aren’t widely known for their seismic activity.  

But multiple areas in California and Oregon, two of the most earthquake-prone states in the US, made the list as well. 

Earthquakes can be incredibly destructive and costly, especially in areas where buildings are not designed to withstand strong ground shaking. 

Last year was relatively quiet in terms of seismic activity in the US, with just under 40 ‘significant’ earthquakes recorded on or offshore 2024, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). No casualties and very little damage were reported. 

DailyMail.com compiled a list of the biggest cities in each of the top 10 most earthquake-vulnerable counties. See if your hometown is in a danger-zone. 

1. San Francisco, California 

San Francisco County is the most earthquake-vulnerable area on the list with a risk score of 57.59, according to the report. 

The more than 800,000 residents of its largest city, San Francisco, are no strangers to big earthquakes. 

They live near multiple fault lines, including the San Andreas Fault, which is an 800-mile-long boundary between two shifting tectonic plates. 

As these two plates slide past each other, friction can cause them to get stuck and stress begins to build. 

When that stress overcomes the strength of the fault, it slips, sending a shockwave up to the ground surface.

San Francisco has experienced earthquakes greater than magnitude 7, including a 7.1 tremblor that struck the San Andreas fault in 1989.

This quake caused significant damage to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge that resulted in one death. 

In total, this event caused 63 deaths, more than 3,700 injuries and roughly $6 billion in damages. 

2. Los Angeles, California 

Los Angeles County, including the city of Los Angeles, scored 53.03 points for overall earthquake vulnerability, earning the city of angels second place on the list

Los Angeles County, including the city proper, received a risk score of 53.03 for overall earthquake vulnerability.

Like San Francisco, Los Angeles lies near the San Andreas and other faults. This city has suffered many major quakes throughout its history. 

Home to more than three million residents, Los Angeles quakes can be particularly deadly due in part to its dense population. The more people there are, the more deaths can occur, according to the Royal Geographical Society.

The most lethal quake to ever rock the city struck in 1933. This magnitude 6.4 resulted in 120 deaths and $40 million in damages.

And in 1994, the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake toppled buildings across Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Though this quake was technically more violent than the one that occurred in 1933, it caused half the amount of deaths, largely because modern buildings in California are built with earthquake-preparedness in mind. 

Still, the Northridge earthquake toppled buildings across Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties, killing 60 people, injuring more than 7,000 and leaving thousands more homeless. 

3. Coos Bay, Oregon

This city is third on the list with a risk score of 50.61 for Coos County. 

Coos Bay, home to more than 15,000 people, lies within just eight miles of the Cascadia Subduction Zone: a megathrust fault where the Juan de Fuca plate slides beneath the North American plate.

This 700-mile-long fault is located about 100 miles off the Pacific Coast and stretches from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino California. It’s capable of producing enormous earthquakes.

A mega-thrust earthquake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone would be as strong as magnitude 9 or higher, on par with the 2011 Tohoku quake that decimated the coast of Japan, causing nearly 20,000 deaths and $360 billion in damages. 

And Coos Bay sits right in the potential path of destruction. 

The Cascadia has not produced a major earthquake in more than three centuries, and scientists say it is long overdue for one. 

‘We should be aware that an earthquake can shake the area at any time with little or no warning and we will likely be surprised when it happens,’ city officials say. 

4. Memphis, Tennessee 

Tennessee’s Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, came in fourth place with a score of 50.55

Tennessee is not widely known for its seismic activity. But Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, ranked fourth for earthquake vulnerability.

While it may seem surprising, the more than 600,000 residents of Memphis know that earthquakes are relatively common in their area, with an average of more than 400 quakes each year. 

Most are too small to be felt, but the area has experienced tremors as strong as magnitude 5. 

The city of Memphis is located on the southern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, one of the most seismically active regions east of the Rock Mountains. 

The faults that make up this multifaceted earthquake zone branch out into northeastern Arkansas, southwestern Kentucky, southeastern Missouri and northwestern Tennessee. 

In 1865, the New Madrid produced the largest quake to ever rock Memphis. 

This magnitude 5 tremblor caused the Earth to ‘undulate’ and waves to form in nearby rivers. Chimneys cracked and toppled to the ground across the city. 

Experts have warned that the New Madrid has a 40 percent chance of releasing 8.4 magnitude earthquake in the next 50 years.

5. Oakland, California 

Alameda County, home to the city of Oakland, came in fifth place with a risk score of 49.9 points. 

More than 400,000 people live in this city, which also lies near the San Andreas fault. 

But Oakland is affected by smaller faults that branch off of the San Andreas too, including the Hayward, which runs directly through this city and has produced earthquakes as strong as magnitude 7.

‘The Hayward Fault is considered one of the most dangerous in the world because scientists believe it is due for a large earthquake and because it runs under a densely populated part of California,’ the state’s Department of Conservation states.

Experts estimate that there’s a 31 percent chance the Hayward Fault will produce a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake within the next three decades. 

In 1868, this fault produced a magnitude 6.8 that wrought devastation across the San Francisco Bay area, including Oakland. 

One of the most destructive quakes in California history, the 40 seconds of strong shaking resulted in 30 deaths and toppled brick buildings, walls and chimneys in Oakland and other Bay Area towns. 

6. Portland, Oregon 

Oregon’s Multnomah County, including the city of Portland, came in sixth place with a score of 49.70 points 

Multnomah County received a risk score of 49.70, and this county is home to the city of Portland. 

Located about 200 miles north of Coos Bay, this city of more than 600,000 residents lies near the Cascadia Subduction Zone, though it is situated further inland. 

However, if the Cascadia produced a high-magnitude quake, Portland would still be in the path of destruction.

It is also affected by local crustal faults such as the Portland Hills fault zone, which is comprised of three separate faults that run directly beneath the city. 

Experts say that the Portland Hills fault zone appears to be capable of producing large-magnitude quakes as strong as magnitude 7.2, though this only happens about once every 1,000 years. 

The most recent quake to significantly affect Portland was the Scott Mills earthquake of 1993 — a magnitude 5.6 which caused about $28.4 million in property damage but no serious injuries or fatalities. 

7. Ukiah, California   

The city of Ukiah is seventh on the list with a risk score of 49.60 for Mendocino County.

Ukiah, home to just over 16,000 residents, is the smallest city on the list. But its proximity the Maacama fault still puts thousands at risk of earthquake impacts.

The Maacama fault is considered the northernmost branch of the Hayward fault system, and it lies just east of Ukiah. 

Historically, this fault has generated moderate earthquakes, with the strongest being a magnitude 4.9.

But the most damaging earthquake in Ukiah history was a magnitude 7.9 that struck the San Andreas fault in 1906. Though most of the devastation occurred in San Francisco, violent shaking traveled to Mendocino County as well.

The county experienced landslides and road blockages that isolated communities for days. Ukiah saw a brand new building completely collapse, although the damage to this city was minor compared to that of other nearby areas. 

8. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma  

Oklahoma county, including Oklahoma City, was given a risk score of 49.42 points 

Like Tennessee, Oklahoma isn’t the first state that comes to mind when thinking about earthquake risk. 

But Oklahoma County, which includes the more that 700,000 residents of Oklahoma City, ranked eighth on the list with a risk score of 49.42 points. 

Approximately fifty minor earthquakes occur in Oklahoma each year, and only an average of one to two are felt. But the state did see a surge in seismic activity up until 2015, largely due to oil and gas drilling. 

In fact, the second-largest earthquake in the state’s history may have been caused by human activity, according to a study by the USGS. 

This magnitude 5.7 tremor struck in 2011 near several active wastewater injection wells, which are used in fracking and have been known to trigger earthquakes. 

The damage from this quake was minor in Oklahoma City with only a few homes impacted. But towns areas closer to the epicenter were significantly affected. 

US Route 62 ‘buckled’ in three locations and several nearby homes suffered major damage. Two people were injured by the event.

Human-driven seismic activity has decreased in this state since 2015, but Oklahoma City still sits on top of an active fault zone: the Nemaha. This fault is capable of producing quakes as strong as magnitude 5.5. 

9. San Bernardino, California 

San Bernardino County, including the city it’s named for, received a risk score of 49.15.

The San Andreas fault cuts quite close to the San Bernardino metro area and has been known to rattle the city with earthquakes. 

According to Earthquake Track, this city experienced nearly 700 earthquakes within the last year, though the majority were too small to be felt. 

Most recently, San Bernardino was rocked by a cluster of three earthquakes on February 10. The largest — a magnitude 3.6 — struck around 10pm local time, and no damages or injuries were immediately reported.   

Back in 1992, San Bernardino experienced two of the most damaging earthquakes in its history on the same day: the Landers-Big Bear earthquakes.

The Landers quake was a magnitude 7.5, and the Big Bear was a 6.6. Officials reported one death, 25 serious injuries and 372 other injuries as a result of the earthquake series, though these did not occur only in San Bernardino proper. 

In San Bernardino County, 77 homes were destroyed and 4,369 were damaged, with losses estimated to be $47.5 million. 

10. San Mateo, California   

San Mateo County received an earthquake vulnerability score of 49.14

In last place we have San Mateo County, home to the city of San Mateo.

This area received a risk score of 49.14 and likely made the top 10 in part because it sits very close to the San Andreas, which lies just two miles west of the city. 

The most damaging earthquake to ever strike San Mateo was the magnitude 7.1 quake that struck the San Andreas fault in 1989.

‘In San Mateo County there were no deaths caused by the quake itself, and very few serious injuries, although panic and anxiety, especially about absent family members, did affect many of us,’ the San Mateo County Historical Association has said. 

If the San Andreas were to produce a high-magnitude quake, the city of San Mateo would be in the path of destruction. 

And because this city is coastal, it is also vulnerable to a tsunami that may result from a major San Andreas earthquake.