Coles County, IL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Coles County scores at the 74.5th 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 1.7 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Coles 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, 15.8% of them do — 45 active policies against 285 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Coles County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Coles County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Coles County ranks 838 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1063 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 46,423 people live in Coles County, Illinois, spread over 508.272 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Coles County
FEMA counts 18,250 residential structures in Coles County overall, 57 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Coles 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.