best of, disaster risk
Seismically safest cities for long-term moves
If you're considering a city for a multi-year stay, ground-shaking history matters. We queried the USGS Earthquake Catalog for every M5+ event within 200 km of each city over the last 50 years, these are the cities with a clean slate. Public-domain US government data.
the ranking
- 01
Halifax, canada8.17 /10·$1,935$1,935250mb21°C8.2 nomad8.17/10 - 02
Lunenburg, canada8.13 /10·~$1,530~$1,530200mb24°C8.1 nomad8.13/10 - 03
Tallinn, estonia8.11 /10·$1,521$1,521250mb10°C8.1 nomad8.11/10 - 04
Helsinki, finland8.11 /10·$2,169$2,169250mb15°C8.1 nomad8.11/10 - 05Charlottetown, canada8.10 /10·$1,557$1,557200mb24°C8.1 nomad8.10/10
- 06
George Town, malaysia8.09 /10·~$862~$862200mb27°C8.1 nomad8.09/10 - 07
Kuching, malaysia8.04 /10·~$862~$862200mb25°C8.0 nomad8.04/10 - 08
St. John's, canada8.00 /10·$1,573$1,573200mb2°C8.0 nomad8.00/10 - 09
Sudbury, canada8.00 /10·$1,698$1,698200mb25°C8.0 nomad8.00/10 - 10
Banff, canada8.00 /10·~$1,530~$1,530200mb22°C8.0 nomad8.00/10 - 11
Gdańsk, poland7.88 /10·~$1,470~$1,470200mb15°C7.9 nomad7.88/10 - 12
Regina, canada7.88 /10·$1,694$1,694200mb25°C7.9 nomad7.88/10 - 13
Tampere, finland7.86 /10·~$2,092~$2,092250mb16°C7.9 nomad7.86/10 - 14
Winnipeg, canada7.86 /10·$1,689$1,689200mb19°C7.9 nomad7.86/10 - 15
Saskatoon, canada7.84 /10·$1,711$1,711200mb23°C7.8 nomad7.84/10
frequently asked
Quick answers.
- How is “safe” defined here?
- Zero M5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the 50-year USGS window. M5 is roughly the threshold for objects falling off shelves; M6 is structural damage to weak buildings; M7 is destruction. Cities with even a single M5+ event are excluded from this list.
- Why 200 km?
- Felt-shaking from a strong quake reaches roughly 150–200 km. Inside that distance you'd feel it, lose power, possibly evacuate. Outside, you'd see it on the news.
- Are there cities with high quake risk on this site?
- Yes, every city's detail page shows the seismic risk card with verified M5+ / M6+ counts and the largest event with year. Tokyo, Sendai, Taipei, Santiago and Valparaíso lead the global table.
monthly note
Stay in the loop.
New cities, regulatory updates (when a visa scheme launches or closes), the occasional editorial. Monthly. Unsubscribe anytime.
We store your email only to send the newsletter; no third-party sharing. GDPR-compliant unsubscribe in every email.