Rankings · Geography

Highest largest recorded earthquake by state

Largest recorded earthquake magnitude since 2000.

This measure has no better end. The order describes the states, it does not rank them — see the other direction.

The largest magnitude among the recorded M4.0+ earthquakes whose estimated epicenter falls inside the county, from 2000 through 2025. Magnitude is logarithmic; this is a historical companion to the count, not a prediction of the next event.

  1. 1Alaska7.9
  2. 2California7.1
  3. 3Hawaii6.9
  4. 4Washington6.8
  5. 5Idaho6.5
  6. 6Nevada6.5
  7. 7Montana5.8
  8. 8Oklahoma5.8
  9. 9Virginia5.8
  10. 10Utah5.7
  11. 11Texas5.4
  12. 12Arizona5.3
  13. 13Colorado5.3
  14. 14New York5.3
  15. 15Illinois5.2
  16. 16North Carolina5.1
  17. 17New Mexico5.0
  18. 18Wyoming5.0
  19. 19Kansas4.9
  20. 20New Jersey4.8
  21. 21Arkansas4.7
  22. 22Maine4.7
  23. 23Alabama4.6
  24. 24Indiana4.6
  25. 25Oregon4.5
  26. 26Tennessee4.4
  27. 27Nebraska4.3
  28. 28Kentucky4.2
  29. 29Michigan4.2
  30. 30Delaware4.1
  31. 31South Carolina4.1
  32. 32Missouri4.0
  33. 33Ohio4.0
  34. 34South Dakota4.0

Not ranked, because this measure is not published for them: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia. No M4.0+ earthquake epicenter was recorded here in 2000–2025.

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Source: U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Catalog. · How this is built