Risk Index · King County · 2026-06-13
Seattle, WA real-estate risk
- Risk score
- 99.7/100
- Very High
- Expected annual loss
- $1.7B
- all hazards, county-wide
- Buildings-only loss
- $1.2B
- what owners and insurers carry
- Population
- 2.3M
- King County
Seattle, WA (King County) carries a FEMA National Risk Index score of 99.7/100, rated "Very High" and driven mainly by earthquake and riverine flood, with roughly $1.7B in expected natural-hazard losses per year (FEMA NRI, 2025).
Exhibit 1 · Hazard scores, national percentile
95th percentile- Earthquake99.9
- Riverine flood99.5
- Heat wave98.2
- Wildfire79.5
- Tornado73.2
- Coastal flood71
- Drought13.7
- Strong wind4.5
- Hail3.1
Each score is the county's percentile against every US county for that hazard (0-100).
What it means for insurance
Riverine flood is the line to verify: an SFHA designation triggers mandatory NFIP coverage and a hard line-item most pro formas understate.
Seattle risk questions
Is Seattle, WA a high-risk area for real estate?
Seattle scores 99.7/100 on FEMA's National Risk Index, rated "Very High" versus all US counties. Its expected natural-hazard loss is about $1.7B per year.
What is the biggest natural hazard in Seattle?
The highest-rated hazard is earthquake (99.9/100), followed by riverine flood (99.5/100).
How does hazard risk affect property insurance in Seattle?
Riverine flood is the line to verify: an SFHA designation triggers mandatory NFIP coverage and a hard line-item most pro formas understate.
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.