Louisiana Parishes Top List of Riskiest US Housing Markets

A pair of Louisiana parishes lead CoreLogic’s ranking of riskiest U.S. housing markets based on natural-disaster probability.

CoreLogic’s Climate Risk Analytics: Composite Risk Score (CRA Composite Risk Score) identified Plaquemines Parish as the place most at risk for property damage from natural disasters in 2023, citing hurricane and inland flood as primary risks. Jefferson Parish was second on the list and faces the same primary risks.

The top 10 places are:

1. Plaquemines, Louisiana — (Primary Risks: Hurricane, Inland Flood)
2. Jefferson, Louisiana — (Primary Risks: Hurricane, Inland Flood)
3. Monroe, Florida — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
4. McMullen, Texas — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)
5. Orleans, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
6. Lincoln, West Virginia — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)
7. Camas, Idaho — (Primary Risk: Wildfire)
8. Van Buren, Iowa — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)
9. Crockett, Texas — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)
10. Carter, Missouri — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)

CoreLogic’s methodology looks at the physical characteristics of homes, including construction year, first-floor height, number of stories and square footage. CoreLogic used historic events to provide some indication of where natural hazard risks may be high and also relied on “evolving climate change necessitates” to provide comprehensive data to identify where such risks are the highest.

CRA Composite Risk Score examined natural disaster risks over the next 30 years across various future climate scenarios and projected these 10 places to be the riskiest housing markets in the year 2050. The list varies only slightly from present riskiest places.

1. Plaquemines, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
2. Jefferson, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
3. Monroe, Florida — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
4. Orleans, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
5. Camas, Idaho — (Primary Risk: Wildfire)
6. Saint Bernard, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
7. McMullen, Texas — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)
8. Cameron, Louisiana — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
9. Hancock, Mississippi — (Primary Risk: Hurricane)
10. Lincoln, West Virginia — (Primary Risk: Inland Flood)

Photo: Boats sunk or destroyed from Hurricane Ida are seen in a marina in Plaquemines Parish, La., Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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