Delaware County, IA flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Delaware County sits at the 61.7th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.2 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 Delaware County
6.4% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Delaware County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 58 policies against 901 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.7% of all residential structures in Delaware County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Delaware County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Delaware County ranks 1258 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1952 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 17,609 people live in Delaware County, Iowa, spread over 577.685 square miles.
Your street may differ from Delaware County's average
FEMA counts 9,951 residential structures in Delaware County overall, 66 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Delaware 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.