HEAD TO HEAD
King County vs Los Angeles County
King County has lower overall exposure — it rates lower on 9 of 14 shared factors. But a single high hazard can matter more than the count.
King County, WAlower risk on 9 of 14 shared factors
Los Angeles County, CAlower risk on 2 of 14 shared factors
Risk, hazard by hazard
FEMA national percentiles (0–100). Lower is lower risk. The lower county on each factor is marked ◆. A dash means FEMA doesn’t rate that county for that hazard.
| Factor | King County, WA | Los Angeles County, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Overall risk | 100 | 100 |
| Earthquake | 100 | 100 |
| Flooding | 99 ◆ | 100 |
| Landslide | 99 | 99 |
| Avalanche | 99 | 92 ◆ |
| Extreme heat | 98 ◆ | 99 |
| Winter weather | 95 | 75 ◆ |
| Ice storm | 91 | — |
| Wildfire | 79 ◆ | 100 |
| Lightning | 75 ◆ | 97 |
| Tornado | 73 ◆ | 98 |
| Coastal flooding | 71 ◆ | 90 |
| Drought | 14 ◆ | 44 |
| Strong wind | 4 ◆ | 75 |
| Hail | 3 ◆ | 93 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · as of 2026-07-10. Risk is a comparison across counties from a public model, not a guarantee for any specific home. Verify insurance needs professionally.