How much flood risk does Chaffee County actually carry?
Chaffee County lands at the 64.7th 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 once every 2 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Chaffee County
17.1% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Chaffee County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 50 policies against 293 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Across all residential structures in Chaffee County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.7% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Chaffee County ranks
Chaffee County sits at rank 1161 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1781 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Chaffee County, Colorado is home to about 20,780 people across 1,013.408 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Chaffee County
Across all of Chaffee County's 11,178 residential structures, 75 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Chaffee 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.