Charles City County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Charles City County scores at the 45.2th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.7 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 28 homes FEMA counts inside Charles City County's mapped flood zone, 5 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 17.9% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Charles City County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Charles City County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Charles City County ranks 1785 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2699 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 6,564 people live in Charles City County, Virginia, spread over 182.901 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Charles City County
Across all of Charles City County's 3,473 residential structures, 17 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Charles City County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Charles City County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.