How much flood risk does Adams County actually carry?
Adams County lands at the 87.2th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Moderate" territory — a middling flood hazard by national standards — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 2 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Adams County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 478 homes FEMA counts inside Adams County's mapped flood zone, 102 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 21.3% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Adams County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Adams County compares nationally
Adams County sits at rank 420 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 132 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Adams County, Colorado is home to about 542,973 people across 1,166.8 square miles of land.
Your street may differ from Adams County's average
283 of Adams County's 146,021 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Adams County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.