Earthquakes by state

Every magnitude 4.0 or greater earthquake in the USGS catalog from 2000 through October 2026, by state and year, with each state’s largest. Refreshed from the source, sortable, downloadable and free to cite.

Alaska has by far the most earthquakes: 8,331 of magnitude 4.0 or greater from 2000 through 2025, most of them offshore along the Aleutian Islands, followed by California (1,028) and Oregon (307). Among the lower 48 states, California leads; 36 of the 50 states and DC recorded at least one.

By Sam Alishahi, independent insurance broker · Data through 2026-10-03

What the data shows

Alaska dominates the count. 8,331 of 10,502 magnitude 4.0+ earthquakes, 79%, were in or off Alaska, most along the Aleutian subduction zone far from where people live; its largest was magnitude 8.2 (2021 Chignik, Alaska Earthquake).

California leads the lower 48 with 1,028, then Oregon (307), Nevada (172), Oklahoma (100), Idaho (75), Texas (51). California’s largest since 2000 was magnitude 7.2 (153 km W of Big Lagoon, California, June 2005).

Oklahoma is the surprise: 100 magnitude 4.0+ earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.8 in September 2016, the largest there in this data.

For a homeowner, earthquake damage is excluded from a standard homeowners policy; it takes a separate earthquake policy or endorsement, usually with a percentage deductible. In California that’s often a California Earthquake Authority policy or a private one (earthquake insurance in California; your county’s storm history).

Use this chart

Free to use with a link back. Paste this into your page or article:

<a href="https://alishahiinsurance.com/earthquakes-by-state"><img src="https://alishahiinsurance.com/data/earthquakes-by-state.svg" alt="Magnitude 4.0+ earthquakes by state, 2000–2025" width="720" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a><br><small>Source: <a href="https://alishahiinsurance.com/earthquakes-by-state">Alishahi Insurance analysis of USGS earthquake data</a></small>

Rank

State

M4.0+ 2000–2025

M5.0+

M6.0+

Largest

M4.0+ in 2025

2026 so far*

Alaska

8,331

1,118

109

8.2 (2021)

384

227

California

1,028

7.2 (2005)

Oregon

307

6.3 (2008)

Hawaii

213

6.9 (2018)

Nevada

172

5.9 (2008)

Oklahoma

100

5.8 (2016)

6.5 (2020)

5.4 (2022)

5.4 (2025)

5.8 (2017)

5.7 (2020)

5 (2001)

5 (2004)

5.3 (2011)

4.9 (2014)

5.3 (2014)

4.7 (2011)

5.8 (2011)

5.2 (2008)

5.3 (2006)

4.4 (2018)

4.6 (2003)

4.2 (2012)

4.3 (2002)

4 (2011)

4.1 (2014)

4 (2003)

4.1 (2017)

4 (2024)

4.6 (2002)

4.67 (2012)

4.6 (2019)

4.2 (2015)

4 (2021)

5.3 (2002)

5.1 (2020)

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District of Columbia

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Method and source

All figures come from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), queried through its FDSN event service for earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater from 2000 through 2026-10-03. Each earthquake is assigned to the state named in USGS’s place description, which names the nearest place, so offshore earthquakes count toward the nearest state; events described relative to Mexico, Canada or open ocean are left out. Magnitude is as reported by USGS; preferred magnitudes are revised occasionally, so counts can shift slightly between refreshes.

Free to use. Please cite “Alishahi Insurance analysis of USGS earthquake data” and link to this page. Download every state and year: CSV. Questions about the data: sam@alishahiinsurance.com.

Earthquakes by state

Earthquakes, nationwide

2018 had the most, 722 earthquakes

The 15 states with the most earthquakes, 2000–2025

What the data shows

Use this chart

Every state, sortable

Method and source

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