Dakota County, NE flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Dakota County sits at the 33.8th national percentile, among the lowest flood hazard in the country; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Dakota County
Out of 165 homes FEMA counts inside Dakota County's mapped flood zone, 15 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 9.1% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% of all residential structures in Dakota County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Dakota County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Dakota County ranks 2140 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1756 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Dakota County, Nebraska covers 264.431 square miles and counts roughly 21,335 residents.
Checking a specific address in Dakota County
FEMA counts 7,211 residential structures in Dakota County overall, 25 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Dakota 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.