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Risk Index · San Diego County · pop 3.3M

San Diego, CA real-estate risk

99.7
/100 · Very High

San Diego, CA (San Diego County) carries a FEMA National Risk Index score of 99.7/100 — rated "Very High" — driven mainly by wildfire and earthquake, with roughly $1.5B in expected natural-hazard losses per year (FEMA NRI, 2025).

Hazard scores (0–100)

Wildfire
100
Earthquake
99.7
Riverine flood
99.7
Heat wave
98.7
Hail
77
Coastal flood
72.8
Tornado
64.4
Drought
59.4
Strong wind
52
Hurricane
8.3

Expected annual loss

$1.5B/yr

all natural hazards, county-wide

Buildings-only loss

$1.4B/yr

the part that hits owners + insurers

What it means for insurance

Wildfire is the binding insurance line here — top-percentile wildfire risk is exactly where carriers are non-renewing and FAIR-Plan pricing (often 2–3× admitted rates) kicks in. Underwrite a real insurance quote before the cap rate.

San Diego risk — FAQ

Is San Diego, CA a high-risk area for real estate?

San Diego scores 99.7/100 on FEMA's National Risk Index — rated "Very High" versus all US counties. Its expected natural-hazard loss is about $1.5B per year.

What is the biggest natural hazard in San Diego?

The highest-rated hazard is wildfire (100/100), followed by earthquake (99.7/100).

How does hazard risk affect property insurance in San Diego?

Wildfire is the binding insurance line here — top-percentile wildfire risk is exactly where carriers are non-renewing and FAIR-Plan pricing (often 2–3× admitted rates) kicks in. Underwrite a real insurance quote before the cap rate.

Scan a San Diego property — free

Drop in any San Diegoaddress and PropHunt's AI pulls the cap rate, comps, permit history and the full hazard/insurance read — no card required.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (Counties), v1.20 (2026-06-13). Scores are national percentiles (0–100). Insurance commentary is PropHunt's interpretation of the hazard data, not an insurance quote.

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