Clay County, MO Flood Zone & Flood Risk Data
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.