Safest ZIP Codes in America — Highest Safety Scores ...

Five ZIP codes in Hicksville, New York share a single post office but carry five different postal codes: 11802, 11815, 11819, 11854, and 11855. All five sit in the top twenty of this ranking with a Safety Score of 99/100. Three ZIP codes in nearby Farmingdale match that score. Two in Great Neck, two in Rockville Centre, two in Mount Vernon. Long Island does not dominate this list by accident — it shows up because something measurable and consistent is happening with its water infrastructure, its flood exposure profile, and its lead history.

Welcome to the 2026 Highest Safety Score Rankings. We analyzed 41,344 ZIP codes using four federal data sources — EPA drinking water violation history, EPA lead testing records, EPA county-level radon zone classifications, and FEMA National Flood Insurance Program claims — and combined them into a single composite score from 0 to 100. Higher scores reflect fewer measurable risk factors. The result is a ranking that answers one question: which U.S. ZIP codes accumulate the least federal-record evidence of environmental hazard to the home.

What the data reveals. The geography of America's highest-scoring ZIP codes is not random, but it is not entirely intuitive either. The top twenty-five positions are split across four states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Delaware — with New York accounting for the majority. Within New York, two distinct clusters emerge: suburban Long Island (Nassau County suburbs like Hicksville, Farmingdale, Great Neck, Syosset) and the Adirondack interior (Speculator, Minerva, Newcomb, Bloomingdale, Inlet). These two clusters reach 99/100 for opposite reasons. The Long Island ZIPs benefit from dense regulatory oversight of large municipal water systems with well-documented compliance records and low radon exposure in Zone 3 territory. The Adirondack ZIPs benefit from sparse population, minimal flood claim history, and water sources with thin but clean federal records. Both pathways lead to the same score; neither guarantees identical safety at the tap.

Virginia and South Carolina own the rest of the top 100. Below the top twenty-five, the ranking shifts dramatically southward. Alexandria, Virginia claims eight consecutive positions (28 through 35), followed by clusters in Fredericksburg, Virginia Beach (eight ZIPs), and Norfolk (eight ZIPs). Virginia places more ZIP codes in the top 100 than any other state — the Hampton Roads corridor, with its mix of federal installations and large water utilities, posts consistently clean compliance records across the EPA dataset. South Carolina then occupies nearly the entire bottom quarter of the top 100: twenty-five ZIP codes from Bethune to Jefferson, spread across the rural Midlands and the Charleston metro. Texas leads the national count with 2,649 ranked ZIP codes, followed by California (2,630), New York (2,186), and Pennsylvania (2,184), giving every major state sufficient sample depth for meaningful comparison.

How to read this ranking. A Safety Score is a lens, not a verdict. A ZIP with a score of 99/100 and one with a score of 66/100 — the national median — are not separated by an "safe vs. unsafe" threshold. They are separated by the number and severity of measurable risk factors recorded in federal databases for that postal area. The score tells you where to look first. If you are evaluating homes in a new market, this list identifies ZIP codes where EPA and FEMA records are cleanest — a useful starting filter, not a final answer. If you are an insurer or researcher, the state-level tables below give you a density view: how many ZIP codes per state carry the highest scores, and how that concentration maps to regional infrastructure patterns.

What this ranking does not tell you. It does not measure housing affordability, school quality, crime, commute times, or neighborhood amenities. It does not account for the age, condition, or material of the plumbing inside any specific building — a ZIP with a 99 score can still contain a house with lead solder joints installed in 1978. It does not replace a water test at your own tap or a radon measurement in your own basement. Rural ZIP codes in both the top and bottom of national rankings often have thinner federal datasets; a high score derived from two data components carries different statistical weight than one derived from four. Both are published here. For the full methodology, see rankings methodology.

41,344 ZIP codes analyzed · Data last refreshed 2026-04-13

Top 100 Highest-Scoring ZIP Codes

Rankings by State

Methodology

Home Safety Score model 4.0.0 combines SDWIS identity plus accepted ECHO SDWA lifecycle-based water compliance, the UCMR 5 PFAS MCL screen, county-level EPA radon zone, and annual EPA AirData AQI across three equally weighted domains. A score requires all domains.

Data sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, EPA radon zone maps, EIA electricity rates, and Consumer Confidence Reports. Last updated: 2026-08-31.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a ZIP code score highly?

Higher scores come from favorable measured results for water compliance, the PFAS MCL screen, radon zone, and annual AQI. The score is a screening metric, not a safety certification.

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