Chaves County, NM: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Chaves County scores at the 92.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. The hazard here is driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.5 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 1,107 homes FEMA counts inside Chaves County's mapped flood zone, 227 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 20.5% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.1% of all residential structures in Chaves County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Chaves County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Chaves County ranks 260 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 857 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Chaves County, New Mexico covers 6,067.178 square miles and counts roughly 63,697 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Chaves County
282 of Chaves County's 25,124 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Chaves County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. If you're unsure why any of this insurance requirement exists at all, the SFHA explainer covers it from first principles.