Ashley County, AR: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Ashley County scores at the 54th 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 1.8 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Ashley County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Ashley County's mapped high-risk flood zone (the Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) are legally required to carry an NFIP flood policy. In practice, 7.9% of them do — 50 active policies against 632 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.6% of all residential structures in Ashley County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Ashley County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Ashley County ranks 1509 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1934 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Ashley County, Arkansas covers 925.492 square miles and counts roughly 17,984 residents.
Checking a specific address in Ashley County
FEMA counts 9,456 residential structures in Ashley County overall, 55 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Ashley 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.