Benzie County, MI: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Benzie County scores at the 37.2th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is split between inland river flooding (about once every 6 years) and coastal storm surge (about once every 73 years). That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 163 homes FEMA counts inside Benzie County's mapped flood zone, 18 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 11% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Benzie County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Benzie County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Benzie County ranks 2038 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1902 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Benzie County, Michigan covers 319.697 square miles and counts roughly 18,520 residents.
Checking a specific address in Benzie County
21 of Benzie County's 11,041 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Benzie County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Benzie County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.