Barnwell County, SC flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Barnwell County sits at the 35th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 4 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Barnwell 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, 9.5% of them do — 2 active policies against 21 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Barnwell County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Barnwell County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Barnwell County ranks 2106 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1802 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Barnwell County, South Carolina covers 548.383 square miles and counts roughly 20,495 residents.
Your street may differ from Barnwell County's average
FEMA counts 7,713 residential structures in Barnwell County overall, 7 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Barnwell 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.