How much flood risk does Cherokee County actually carry?
Cherokee County lands at the 88.5th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Moderate" territory — a middling flood hazard by national standards — 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 1 years. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Cherokee County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 187 homes FEMA counts inside Cherokee County's mapped flood zone, 64 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 34.2% compliance, short of full coverage. Across all residential structures in Cherokee County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Cherokee County ranks
Cherokee County sits at rank 378 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 249 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 293,513 people live in Cherokee County, Georgia, spread over 420.956 square miles.
Your street may differ from Cherokee County's average
FEMA counts 88,262 residential structures in Cherokee County overall, 212 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 Cherokee 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.