Is Carroll County, MD in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Carroll County's flood hazard at the 66.7th percentile nationally — 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 2.7 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.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Carroll 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, 25.8% of them do — 64 active policies against 248 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Carroll County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.3% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Carroll County ranks
Carroll County sits at rank 1092 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 394 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 177,108 people live in Carroll County, Maryland, spread over 447.615 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Carroll County
FEMA counts 59,125 residential structures in Carroll County overall, 177 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Carroll 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.