How much flood risk does Alleghany County actually carry?
Alleghany County lands at the 41.1th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — 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 1 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Alleghany County's flood-insurance compliance gap
16.1% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Alleghany County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 9 policies against 56 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Across all residential structures in Alleghany 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 Alleghany County compares nationally
Alleghany County sits at rank 1912 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2324 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Alleghany County, North Carolina covers 234.835 square miles and counts roughly 11,379 residents.
Your street may differ from Alleghany County's average
FEMA counts 9,939 residential structures in Alleghany County overall, 20 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Alleghany 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.