CO & Gas Safety Rankings 2026 — By ZIP Code

Rank	State	Avg Score
1	PA	9
2	MD	8.5
3	UT	8.5
4	MI	7.1
5	TX	7.1
6	CA	6.3
7	NY	5.6
8	MA	5.5
9	IL	5.1
10	OH	4.9
11	NV	4.8
12	AZ	4.3
13	RI	4
14	NJ	3.9
15	NE	3.6

Twenty-five ZIP codes share the highest possible Risk Score in this ranking — 100 out of 100 — and all twenty-five are in Pennsylvania. Not scattered across the state, but concentrated: seventeen of them form a nearly unbroken band across Berks County, running from Boyertown and Bechtelsville in the south through Kutztown and Lenhartsville to the north. Three more — 17087 in Richland, 18011 in Alburtis, and 18056 in Hereford — sit in adjacent Lehigh County, less than thirty miles away. The county-level fatality figure attached to each of these ZIP codes is 7. That is not a composite estimate. That is the PHMSA-reported death count attributed to gas-related incidents in these counties.

Welcome to the 2026 CO & Gas Safety Rankings. We analyzed 42,675 ZIP codes using federal pipeline safety data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which tracks incidents across natural gas distribution and transmission systems nationwide — including ruptures, explosions, leaks, and associated fatalities. Each ZIP code receives a Risk Score from 0 to 100 based on the frequency and severity of reported incidents in its county, normalized across the full national distribution. The result is a ranking built around one question: which U.S. ZIP codes carry the highest and lowest measurable risk from the gas infrastructure beneath them.

What the data reveals. Pennsylvania's dominance of the worst tier is not a coincidence. The state sits at the intersection of two compounding factors: one of the densest natural gas distribution networks in the country, built partly on aging cast-iron and unprotected steel mains installed in the mid-twentieth century, and a long industrial history of pipeline proximity to residential areas. Berks County specifically has a documented record of PHMSA-reported incidents that pushed its county-level score to the top of the national distribution. The worst-ranked ZIP in this dataset — 17087, Richland, PA — carries the same 100/100 score as the seventeen Berks County entries clustered around it. That uniformity reflects how county-level incident data propagates to ZIP codes within the same county boundary, meaning the risk concentration is real and geographic, not a statistical artifact.

The top of the list is just as revealing. Seventeen of the twenty-five safest ZIP codes in the country are in New Jersey, and the remaining eight are in Connecticut — both 0/100 Risk Score, zero county fatalities. The NJ cluster runs through Atlantic and Cape May counties: Richland, Newtonville, Mizpah, Minotola, Milmay, and a string of small communities where PHMSA incident records show no reported gas-related deaths and minimal incident frequency. Connecticut entries — Torrington, South Kent, Pequabuck, Northfield, Lakeside, Cornwall, North Westchester, Middletown — add a second Northeast safe corridor. Texas leads the country with 2,649 ranked ZIP codes, followed by California (2,628), New York (2,185), and Pennsylvania (2,184), giving every major state enough sample depth for meaningful within-state comparisons.

How to read this ranking. A Risk Score aggregates reported PHMSA incidents at the county level and maps them to ZIP codes within that county. A score of 100 means the county recorded among the most severe or frequent gas-related incidents in the national dataset. A score of 0 means the county recorded no deaths and minimal incident volume. The score is a relative measure — it tells you where a ZIP falls in the national distribution, not whether any specific address is safe or unsafe. If your ZIP code scores in the top quartile, the appropriate next step is to check when local gas mains were last replaced, whether your utility has cast-iron main replacement programs underway, and whether your home has a working CO detector on each floor.

What this ranking does not tell you. PHMSA incident data captures events that utilities and operators are required to report: significant leaks, explosions, and fatalities tied to gas distribution and transmission infrastructure. It does not capture unreported small leaks, indoor CO poisoning events from appliances without a pipeline connection (furnaces, water heaters, generators), or incidents handled internally by utilities below the federal reporting threshold. A ZIP code with a low Risk Score may still have individual homes with faulty appliances or inadequate ventilation. This ranking is a starting point for understanding infrastructure-level risk — it is not a substitute for a CO detector, an annual furnace inspection, or a conversation with your local gas utility about main replacement schedules.

42,675 ZIP codes analyzed · Data last refreshed 2026-04-12

42,675 ZIP codes analyzed · Worst score: 100/100

25 Worst ZIP Codes

#	ZIP Code	City	State	Risk Score	Risk Level	County Fatalities
1	17087	Richland	PA	100/100	high	7
2	18011	Alburtis	PA	100/100	high	7
3	18056	Hereford	PA	100/100	high	7
4	19412	—	—	100/100	high	7
5	19503	Bally	PA	100/100	high	7
6	19505	Bechtelsville	PA	100/100	high	7
7	19506	Bernville	PA	100/100	high	7
8	19507	Bethel	PA	100/100	high	7
9	19508	Birdsboro	PA	100/100	high	7
10	19510	Blandon	PA	100/100	high	7
11	19511	Bowers	PA	100/100	high	7
12	19512	Boyertown	PA	100/100	high	7
13	19516	Centerport	PA	100/100	high	7
14	19518	Douglassville	PA	100/100	high	7
15	19519	Earlville	PA	100/100	high	7
16	19522	Fleetwood	PA	100/100	high	7
17	19523	Geigertown	PA	100/100	high	7
18	19526	Hamburg	PA	100/100	high	7
19	19530	Kutztown	PA	100/100	high	7
20	19533	Leesport	PA	100/100	high	7
21	19534	Lenhartsville	PA	100/100	high	7
22	19535	Limekiln	PA	100/100	high	7
23	19536	Lyon Station	PA	100/100	high	7
24	19540	Mohnton	PA	100/100	high	7
25	19541	Mohrsville	PA	100/100	high	7

25 Best ZIP Codes

#	ZIP Code	City	State	Risk Score	Risk Level
1	08350	Richland	NJ	0/100	low
2	08346	Newtonville	NJ	0/100	low
3	08342	Mizpah	NJ	0/100	low
4	08341	Minotola	NJ	0/100	low
5	08340	Milmay	NJ	0/100	low
6	08328	Malaga	NJ	0/100	low
7	08326	Landisville	NJ	0/100	low
8	08317	Dorothy	NJ	0/100	low
9	08252	Whitesboro	NJ	0/100	low
10	08246	South Seaville	NJ	0/100	low
11	08217	Elwood	NJ	0/100	low
12	08214	Dennisville	NJ	0/100	low
13	08074	Richwood	NJ	0/100	low
14	08032	Grenloch	NJ	0/100	low
15	07890	Branchville	NJ	0/100	low
16	07855	Middleville	NJ	0/100	low
17	07419	Hamburg	NJ	0/100	low
18	06792	Torrington	CT	0/100	low
19	06785	South Kent	CT	0/100	low
20	06781	Pequabuck	CT	0/100	low
21	06778	Northfield	CT	0/100	low
22	06758	Lakeside	CT	0/100	low
23	06753	Cornwall	CT	0/100	low
24	06474	North Westchester	CT	0/100	low
25	06459	Middletown	CT	0/100	low

Rankings by State

State	ZIP Codes
Texas	2,649
California	2,628
New York	2,185
Pennsylvania	2,184
Illinois	1,583
Florida	1,484
Ohio	1,435
Virginia	1,228
Michigan	1,167
Missouri	1,161
North Carolina	1,085
Iowa	1,058
Minnesota	1,009
Indiana	980
Georgia	964
Kentucky	947
Wisconsin	898
West Virginia	855
Alabama	819
Tennessee	787
Oklahoma	771
Kansas	749
Washington	726
New Jersey	726
Louisiana	723

Methodology

CO and gas safety scores are based on PHMSA gas pipeline incident data, including county-level incident counts, fatalities, and recency of events. Higher risk scores indicate more frequent or severe gas-related incidents. Data sources: PHMSA incident reports, CPSC carbon monoxide data.

Last updated: 2026-06-04.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are these rankings calculated?

Rankings are based on federal agency data including EPA, FEMA, USGS, and PHMSA. Each ZIP code receives a score based on the specific risk factors for this category. See the methodology section above for details.

How often are rankings updated?

Rankings are regenerated quarterly using the latest available data. The date shown reflects the most recent update.

CO & Gas Safety Rankings 2026 — By ZIP Code

Average CO & Gas Risk Score by State

Top 15 States

CO & Gas Risk Distribution

States with Highest CO/Gas Risk

25 Worst ZIP Codes

25 Best ZIP Codes

Rankings by State

Methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

How are these rankings calculated?

How often are rankings updated?

Explore More 2026 Rankings

See Also

Related Rankings

Rank	State	Avg Score
1	PA	9
2	MD	8.5
3	UT	8.5
4	MI	7.1
5	TX	7.1
6	CA	6.3
7	NY	5.6
8	MA	5.5
9	IL	5.1
10	OH	4.9
11	NV	4.8
12	AZ	4.3
13	RI	4
14	NJ	3.9
15	NE	3.6

Rank	State	Avg Score
1	PA	9
2	MD	8.5
3	UT	8.5
4	MI	7.1
5	TX	7.1
6	CA	6.3
7	NY	5.6
8	MA	5.5
9	IL	5.1
10	OH	4.9
11	NV	4.8
12	AZ	4.3
13	RI	4
14	NJ	3.9
15	NE	3.6

Rank	State	Avg Score
1	PA	9
2	MD	8.5
3	UT	8.5
4	MI	7.1
5	TX	7.1
6	CA	6.3
7	NY	5.6
8	MA	5.5
9	IL	5.1
10	OH	4.9
11	NV	4.8
12	AZ	4.3
13	RI	4
14	NJ	3.9
15	NE	3.6