Alexander County, IL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Alexander County scores at the 40.5th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 7.3 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
6.9% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Alexander County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 105 policies against 1,530 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 3.5% of all residential structures in Alexander County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Alexander County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Alexander County ranks 1933 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2849 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 4,594 people live in Alexander County, Illinois, spread over 235.394 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Alexander County
FEMA counts 3,251 residential structures in Alexander County overall, 112 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Alexander County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.