Bergen County, NJ: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Bergen County scores at the 100th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very High" — among the highest flood hazard in the country. The hazard here is split between inland river flooding (about 5.9 times a year) and coastal storm surge (about 3.8 times a year). That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Bergen County's flood-insurance compliance gap
41.3% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Bergen County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 4,203 policies against 10,177 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 2.3% of all residential structures in Bergen County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Bergen County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Bergen County ranks 3 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 55 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Bergen County, New Jersey covers 232.797 square miles and counts roughly 978,641 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Bergen County
FEMA counts 254,586 residential structures in Bergen County overall, 5,724 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Bergen County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Bergen County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.