Earthquakes M4.5+ within 100 km: ranking of metro areas in California
Order: highest value first. Lower is better.
Earthquakes M4.5+ within 100 km: ranking of metro areas in California: Los Angeles ranks first (0.45 per year) and Fresno last (0.00 per year). The median across 16 the state's metro areas is 0.20 per year. Observation period: 2006-2025. Source: USGS, ComCat earthquake catalog.
Average number of magnitude 4.5+ earthquakes per year within 100 km of the center over the period. This is a record of past tremors, not a hazard forecast.
Data quality: 20-year catalog: rare strong events may fall outside the window; completeness outside the US depends on the region.
| # | Metro area | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 0.45 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 2 | Santa Rosa | 0.45 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 3 | Salinas | 0.40 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 4 | Vallejo | 0.40 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 5 | Oxnard | 0.35 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 6 | Riverside | 0.35 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 7 | San Jose | 0.30 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 8 | San Francisco | 0.20 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 9 | Stockton | 0.20 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 10 | Bakersfield | 0.15 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 11 | Modesto | 0.15 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 12 | Sacramento | 0.10 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 13 | San Diego | 0.10 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 14 | Santa Maria | 0.05 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 15 | Visalia | 0.05 per year | 2006-2025 |
| 16 | Fresno | 0.00 per year | 2006-2025 |
Only places with a value for the indicator are ranked; a gap is not a zero. A ranking on one indicator is not an assessment of a place to live.