U.S. ranking · USGS ComCat

Most Earthquake-Prone U.S. States

U.S. states and territories ranked by total catalogued M4+ earthquakes.

Compiled by PlainQuake, Earthquake Data Editorial Process · July 19, 2026

Alaska
#1: 8,960
M4+ events: 39
ranked states

The verdict

Alaska leads with 8,960, ahead of Northern Mariana Islands (3,328) and Guam (2,456) across 39 ranked U.S. states & territories.

#2 Northern Mariana Islands
3,328: #3 Guam
2,456: 85%
share held by the top 3: #39 Florida
1 (the list cutoff)

Counts reflect both real seismicity and monitoring density; read alongside population exposure for risk.

Alaska

8,960
Northern Mariana Islands

3,328
Guam

2,456
California

883
Puerto Rico

296
Oregon

263
U.S. Virgin Islands

221
Hawaii

204
Nevada

170
Oklahoma

97
Idaho

73
Georgia

67

What this shows Alaska dominates U.S. seismicity thanks to the Aleutian Subduction Zone, where the Pacific Plate dives beneath North America. California follows, driven by the San Andreas system. Pacific territories, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, also rank high, sitting directly on the Ring of Fire.

Full ranking

M4+ events for all 39 ranked U.S. states & territories. Select any entry for its full seismic profile.

Bar length shows each row's value as a share of the #1 entry; hover or tap a bar for its exact share and rank.

#	State / territory	M4+ events
1	Alaska	8,960
2	Northern Mariana Islands	3,328
3	Guam	2,456
4	California	883
5	Puerto Rico	296
6	Oregon	263
7	U.S. Virgin Islands	221
8	Hawaii	204
9	Nevada	170
10	Oklahoma	97
11	Idaho	73
12	Georgia	67
13	Texas	52
14	New Mexico	37
15	Montana	28
16	Utah	25
17	American Samoa	24
18	Washington	17
19	Wyoming	13
20	Colorado	12
21	Kansas	12
22	Arizona	7
23	Arkansas	5
24	Virginia	5
25	Louisiana	5
26	Tennessee	3
27	Illinois	3
28	Nebraska	2
29	Missouri	2
30	Kentucky	1
31	Maine	1
32	South Carolina	1
33	Michigan	1
34	Delaware	1
35	Ohio	1
36	Maryland	1
37	North Carolina	1
38	New Jersey	1
39	Florida	1

Source: USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat).

What this state ranking means

Alaska's count is 8,960x higher than #39-ranked Florida (1).

See Alaska's full earthquake history, magnitude and depth profile, and yearly trend. Open Alaska's page
Raw counts partly reflect monitoring density - see which states have recorded the STRONGEST individual earthquakes. See the complementary ranking

Figures reflect the USGS ComCat catalog (M4+ since 2005, M6+ significant events since 1900) and depend partly on regional monitoring density - not a real-time hazard assessment.

How to read this ranking

A high count on this leaderboard reflects two things at once: real tectonic activity AND how well that state is monitored. Densely instrumented regions detect far more small earthquakes than remote or sparsely monitored ones of similar underlying seismicity, so raw rank is a starting point for research, not a finished risk assessment.

Total event count also says nothing about population exposure. A state with a huge count but a small, dispersed population can carry less real-world risk than one lower on this list with dense cities sitting directly on an active fault. Cross-check any entry that matters to you against its own seismic profile page, which breaks down magnitude distribution, depth, and the strongest events on record.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Alaska have so many earthquakes? ▼

Alaska sits above the Aleutian Subduction Zone, one of the most active tectonic boundaries on Earth. It has experienced three of the ten largest earthquakes ever recorded, including the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake.

Are all states at earthquake risk? ▼

Western states face the highest risk, but every state has recorded earthquakes. The New Madrid Seismic Zone (Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee) produced some of the largest quakes in U.S. history in 1811–1812, and Charleston, SC saw an M7.3 in 1886.

Other rankings

Most quakes, countries Strongest, countries Strongest, U.S. states Most significant (M6+)Highest avg magnitude

All countries

Earthquake data by country

All U.S. states

Earthquake data by state

Significant events

Major M6+ earthquakes worldwide

About this data

These rankings are computed directly from the USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), the public-domain record maintained by the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Count-based leaderboards use the worldwide catalog of magnitude-4.0-and-above events from 2005 onward, the period over which the global seismograph network reliably detects and locates earthquakes everywhere, while magnitude leaderboards use the significant-event series of magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquakes stretching back to 1900. Magnitudes use the moment-magnitude scale (Mw), the modern standard that supersedes the older Richter scale; because the scale is logarithmic, each whole step up represents roughly thirty-two times more energy released. Remember that raw counts partly measure monitoring density, not only underlying seismicity, and that one historic outlier can anchor a high maximum magnitude, read each leaderboard alongside population exposure and building stock before drawing conclusions about real-world risk.

Source: USGS ComCat, verify with USGS → · See our methodology for the full pipeline.

According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 315,341 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,428 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-07-19.