Clarke County, VA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Clarke County scores at the 16.6th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 1.3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Clarke County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Clarke County's mapped high-risk flood zone (the Special Flood Hazard Area, or SFHA) are legally required to carry an NFIP flood policy. In practice, 29.8% of them do — 25 active policies against 84 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.8% of all residential structures in Clarke County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Clarke County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Clarke County ranks 2656 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2061 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Clarke County, Virginia is home to about 15,598 people across 175.958 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Clarke County
47 of Clarke County's 6,226 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Clarke 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.