How much flood risk does Butler County actually carry?
Butler County lands at the 37.2th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 3.2 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Butler County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Butler 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, 13.6% of them do — 90 active policies against 664 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Butler County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Butler County against the rest of the country
Butler County sits at rank 2040 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2152 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 14,156 people live in Butler County, Iowa, spread over 580.138 square miles.
Your street may differ from Butler County's average
113 of Butler County's 7,890 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Butler County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.