Clay County, MO: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Clay County scores at the 87.8th 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 3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Clay County
Out of 560 homes FEMA counts inside Clay County's mapped flood zone, 149 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 26.6% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Clay County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Clay County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Clay County ranks 403 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 280 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Clay County, Missouri is home to about 263,370 people across 397.658 square miles of land.
Checking a specific address in Clay County
258 of Clay County's 82,860 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Clay 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.