ResearchRisk
Growing Cities With Surprisingly Low Physical-Risk Exposure
Fast growth and low hazard exposure do not usually go together. These cities manage both.
20 published city profiles clear 55 on both the AreaProfile Growth and Physical Resilience signals. That combination is uncommon: much of the recent US building boom has been in places with meaningful hurricane, wildfire or severe-weather exposure.
| City | Growth | Resilience | Permits per 1,000 | Largest hazard | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison, WI | 73 | 97 | 11.3 | Cold wave | 78 |
| Madison, WI | 73 | 97 | 11.3 | Cold wave | 80 |
| Sioux Falls, SD | 75 | 83 | 10.9 | Ice storm | 79 |
| Sioux Falls, SD | 75 | 83 | 10.9 | Ice storm | 77 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 77 | 81 | 8.0 | Inland flooding | 78 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 77 | 81 | 8.0 | Inland flooding | 77 |
| Overland Park, KS | 70 | 83 | 5.2 | Winter weather | 76 |
| Overland Park, KS | 70 | 83 | 5.2 | Winter weather | 74 |
| Worcester, MA | 67 | 85 | 3.5 | Ice storm | 68 |
| Worcester, MA | 67 | 85 | 3.5 | Ice storm | 67 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 61 | 89 | 3.2 | Tornado | 74 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 61 | 89 | 3.2 | Tornado | 74 |
| Knoxville, TN | 75 | 73 | 9.0 | Lightning | 71 |
| Knoxville, TN | 75 | 73 | 9.0 | Lightning | 72 |
| Atlanta, GA | 64 | 83 | 12.0 | Lightning | 78 |
| Atlanta, GA | 64 | 83 | 12.0 | Lightning | 76 |
| McKinney, TX | 77 | 67 | 15.1 | Tornado | 73 |
| McKinney, TX | 77 | 67 | 15.1 | Tornado | 75 |
| Frisco, TX | 78 | 66 | 16.2 | Tornado | 75 |
| Frisco, TX | 78 | 66 | 16.2 | Tornado | 77 |
“Largest hazard” is the single hazard contributing most to the FEMA risk score for that city, even where its absolute level is low. FEMA does not endorse this analysis; the hazard inputs are FEMA data and the signals and this selection are AreaProfile calculations.
Methodology
Cities of 100,000 or more where the AreaProfile Growth signal is above 55 and the Physical Resilience signal is also above 55, ranked by the sum of the two. Growth is built from Census permit data; resilience is derived from the FEMA National Risk Index, aggregated to the city from its component counties and inverted so that higher is more favorable.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency — National Risk Index (1.20.0)
Related
This report is generated from a stored query against the AreaProfile database. See the methodology for how the underlying data is collected and normalized, and the editorial policy for how these reports are written.