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Two years ago, Sperling's BestPlaces ranked 379 metro areas, home to 85% of all U.S. residents at the behest of the New York Times.
The ranking reflected the risks of tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, hail, and other weather events such as extreme rain, snow, heat and cold.
The top 10 metro areas with the lowest risk of damage from natural disasters included:
1. Corvallis, OR
2. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
3. Bellingham, WA
4. Wenatchee, WA
5. Grand Junction, CO
6. Spokane, WA
7. Salem, OR
8. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
9. Yakima, WA
10. Olympia, WA
In other words, smaller cities in the Pacific Northwest are the place to be when disaster strikes.
Last week, Sperling's also created a ranking of the "Most Secure Places to Live in the U.S." for Farmers Insurance Group, which included large metropolitan areas (population of 500,000 or greater).
The Farmers ranking reflected a broader range of criteria, including economic stability, crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, environmental hazards, life expectancy, motor vehicle fatalities, and employment numbers.
The top 10 large metro areas ranked according to these criteria included:
1. Bethesda–Gaithersburg–Frederick, Md.
2. Grand Rapids–Wyoming, Mich.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa.
4. Austin–Round Rock, Texas
5. Cambridge–Newton–Framingham, Mass.
6. Omaha, Neb.–Council Bluffs, Iowa
7. San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara, Calif.
8. San Francisco–San Mateo–Redwood City, Calif.
9. Portland–Beaverton, Ore.–Vancouver, Wash.
10. Dallas–Plano–Irving, Texas
