Special Report
States Where Natural Disasters Drove the Most People From Their Homes
Published:
Last year ranked third in the number of natural disasters in the U.S. that caused $1 billion in damage. In addition to Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida and parts of Georgia in September, severe drought conditions impacted many Western and Central states, major flooding impacted eastern Kentucky and eastern Missouri, and wildfires raged in western states, among the many weather events and natural disasters. As a result, many Americans were uprooted because of severe weather episodes. (Also read: this is the worst natural disaster in every state’s history.)
To determine the states with the most people displaced by natural disasters in 2022, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey conducted between Dec. 9-19. We only included states where at least 1% of the population were displaced due to natural disasters at some point in the previous 52 weeks from when the survey ended and ranked them according to the percent of adults who were displaced. Supplemental data came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s most recent study on Billion Dollar Disasters.
While California dealt with an earthquake in December that killed two as well as drought and a series of wildfires that consumed sections of the Golden State between January and October and claimed nine lives, it is not among the states that had the most displaced adults as a percentage of their population. Still, it is noteworthy as about a quarter of a million adults were displaced due to natural disasters. (California has had more weather disasters than any other state in the last decade.)
In the southeast, where Hurricane Ian tore up swaths of Florida and parts of Georgia in September, a greater portion of the population was displaced. In Florida, almost 1 million adults were displaced as a result of natural disasters that caused as much as $100 billion to $200 billion in damage, both the highest figures of any state. In Georgia, 95,700 adults were displaced, and damages caused by major weather events ranged from $500 million to $1 billion.
By percentage, Florida was not the state where most residents were displaced by disaster. That distinction belongs to Louisiana, where 409,996 people, or 11.9% of all adults, in the Pelican State were displaced due to natural disasters such as the tornadoes that hit the state in December.
About half of the 18 states on our list had estimated damages caused by major weather events in 2022 of $1 billion or more.
Click here to see states where the most people were displaced by natural disasters last year.
Click here to see out detailed methodology.
18. South Dakota
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.03%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 6,764 — 11th fewest
> Total population age 18+: 656,870 — 5th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $2.0 billion – $5.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 4
> Notable natural disaster in past year: North Central Severe Weather, May 11-12
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17. Delaware
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.11%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 8,693 — 15th fewest
> Total population age 18+: 785,346 — 6th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: N/A
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 0
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Winter Storm, Dec 15
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16. Oklahoma
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.11%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 32,777 — 19th most
> Total population age 18+: 2,959,577 — 23rd fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $1.0 billion – $2.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 6
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Oklahoma Tornados, 2022
15. Michigan
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.13%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 86,996 — 7th most
> Total population age 18+: 7,718,744 — 10th most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $100 million – $250 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 3
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Severe Storm, Jun 15
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14. Wyoming
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.18%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 5,151 — 9th fewest
> Total population age 18+: 437,949 — the fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $5 million – $100 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 1
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Winter Storm, Dec 22
13. Georgia
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.18%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 95,700 — 5th most
> Total population age 18+: 8,132,374 — 8th most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $500 million – $1.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 6
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Hurricane Ian, Sep 23-30
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12. Oregon
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.18%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 39,169 — 17th most
> Total population age 18+: 3,326,922 — 24th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $500 million – $1.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 3
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Winter Storm, Dec 27
11. Mississippi
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.19%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 26,027 — 22nd most
> Total population age 18+: 2,182,393 — 17th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $250 million – $500 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 5
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Severe Storm, Nov 29
10. Montana
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year:1.21%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 10,436 — 17th fewest
> Total population age 18+: 864,638 — 8th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $500 million – $1.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 2
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Montana Severe Weather and Flooding, Jun 10
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9. New Jersey
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.31%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 93,122 — 6th most
> Total population age 18+: 7,091,865 — 11th most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $5 million – $100 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 2
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Severe Storm, Dec 22
8. New Hampshire
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.46%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 16,261 — 21st fewest
> Total population age 18+: 1,110,006 — 11th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: N/A
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 0
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Winter Storm, Dec 26
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7. Arizona
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.47%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 82,838 — 8th most
> Total population age 18+: 5,637,881 — 14th most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $100 million – $250 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 2
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Tunnel Wildfire, Apr-Jun
6. New Mexico
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.54%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 24,835 — 25th fewest
> Total population age 18+: 1,614,032 — 15th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $1.0 billion – $2.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 3
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, Apr-Aug
5. Kentucky
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.61%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 54,674 — 11th most
> Total population age 18+: 3,391,961 — 25th fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $1.0 billion – $2.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 5
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Kentucky Flooding, July 26-28
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4. Texas
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 1.74%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 380,768 — 3rd most
> Total population age 18+: 21,876,805 — 2nd most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $5.0 billion – $10.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 8
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Texas Hail Storms, Feb 21-22
3. Nevada
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 2.15%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 52,767 — 12th most
> Total population age 18+: 2,449,239 — 21st fewest
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $5 million – $100 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 1
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Winter Storm, Dec 12
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2. Florida
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 5.76%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 999,401 — the most
> Total population age 18+: 17,352,741 — 3rd most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $100.0 billion – $200.0 billion
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 4
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Hurricane Ian, Sep 23-30
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1. Louisiana
> Pct. adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 11.97%
> Adults displaced by natural disaster in the past year: 409,996 — 2nd most
> Total population age 18+: 3,424,716 — 25th most
> Damages caused by major weather events in 2022: $100 million – $250 million
> No. of major disasters in 2022: 4
> Notable natural disaster in past year: Louisiana Tornadoes, Dec 14
Methodology
To determine the states with the most people displaced by natural disasters in 2022, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey conducted between Dec. 9-19. We only included states where at least 1% of the population were displaced due to natural disasters at some point in the previous 52 weeks from when the survey ended and ranked them according to the percent of adults who were displaced.
Supplemental data came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s most recent study on Billion Dollar Disasters in each state regarding the costs associated with these disasters and how many of these disasters occurred in each state. (Despite the name, not all of the disasters included in the NOAA’s report exceed $1 billion in damages, but they all dealt substantial infrastructure damage.) We also included some of the most prominent disasters of last year in each state, though these are not necessarily the disasters in the state that displaced the most people in the state in 2022.
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