Crittenden County, AR: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Crittenden County scores at the 72.4th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. 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 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 Crittenden County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Crittenden 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, 20% of them do — 145 active policies against 725 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 2.2% of all residential structures in Crittenden County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Crittenden County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Crittenden County ranks 909 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1057 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Crittenden County, Arkansas is home to about 46,633 people across 611.812 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Crittenden County
FEMA counts 16,946 residential structures in Crittenden County overall, 364 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Crittenden 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.