Most Earthquake-Prone States

US states ranked by number of notable earthquakes recorded since 2004. States with more active seismicity have more recorded events and higher maximum magnitudes.

#StateNotable EarthquakesLargest
1 Alaska 100 M8.2
2 California 100 M7.1
3 Idaho 100 M6.5
4 New Mexico 100 M5.4
5 Nevada 100 M7.1
6 Oklahoma 100 M5.8
7 Texas 100 M5.8
8 Montana 98 M6.5
9 Maine 97 M4.7
10 Kentucky 89 M5.2
11 Ohio 87 M4.0
12 Utah 83 M5.7
13 Washington 82 M4.8
14 West Virginia 81 M5.8
15 Arizona 80 M5.5
16 Alabama 75 M4.3
17 New York 74 M4.8
18 Kansas 72 M4.9
19 Nebraska 71 M4.1
20 Virginia 71 M5.8
21 Georgia 59 M4.1
22 Oregon 58 M4.9
23 Wyoming 53 M5.0
24 Colorado 52 M5.3
25 South Dakota 48 M4.0
26 Louisiana 42 M4.9
27 Hawaii 38 M6.9
28 Arkansas 33 M4.7
29 Indiana 33 M5.2
30 Maryland 26 M5.8
31 Michigan 17 M4.2
32 Missouri 17 M4.0
33 Tennessee 16 M4.4
34 Illinois 15 M5.2
35 Mississippi 15 M3.7
36 Pennsylvania 15 M4.8
37 New Jersey 14 M4.8
38 New Hampshire 12 M3.1
39 Vermont 9 M3.1
40 North Carolina 8 M5.1
41 Massachusetts 6 M3.6
42 South Carolina 6 M4.1
43 Connecticut 3 M3.3
44 Florida 3 M5.9
45 Iowa 3 M3.6
46 Delaware 2 M4.1
47 North Dakota 2 M3.3
48 Wisconsin 2 M2.9
49 Rhode Island 1 M2.6

About This Ranking

This table ranks states by the number of notable earthquakes (generally M3.5+ for seismically active states, M2.5+ for quieter states) recorded by the USGS since 2004. States that hit the 100-event limit have even more recorded activity — the count shown is a floor, not a ceiling.

Earthquake counts alone don't tell the full story. A state with fewer but larger earthquakes may face more risk than one with many small tremors. Use the address lookup tool above for location-specific risk assessment.