Cumberland County, NJ: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Cumberland County scores at the 88.4th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively High" — well above the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.7 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Cumberland County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Cumberland 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, 26.9% of them do — 274 active policies against 1,020 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.9% of all residential structures in Cumberland County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Cumberland County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Cumberland County ranks 383 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 452 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Cumberland County, New Jersey covers 483.38 square miles and counts roughly 155,678 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Cumberland County
FEMA counts 42,207 residential structures in Cumberland County overall, 371 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Cumberland County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Cumberland County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.