Is Chittenden County, VT in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Chittenden County's flood hazard at the 76.4th percentile nationally — a middling flood hazard by national standards — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 2.1 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
34.8% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Chittenden County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 124 policies against 356 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Across all residential structures in Chittenden County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.6% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Chittenden County against the rest of the country
Chittenden County sits at rank 776 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 408 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Chittenden County, Vermont covers 536.87 square miles and counts roughly 170,851 residents.
Checking a specific address in Chittenden County
Across all of Chittenden County's 46,559 residential structures, 283 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 Chittenden 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.