Benton County, MN: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Benton County scores at the 61.7th 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 once every 3 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Benton County
14.7% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Benton County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 70 policies against 477 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Benton County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Benton County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Benton County ranks 1257 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1159 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Benton County, Minnesota covers 408.303 square miles and counts roughly 41,881 residents.
Checking a specific address in Benton County
76 of Benton County's 15,914 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Benton 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.