Dougherty County, GA: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Dougherty County scores at the 87.6th 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 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 Dougherty County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Dougherty 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, 22.4% of them do — 684 active policies against 3,056 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 2.7% of all residential structures in Dougherty County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Dougherty County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Dougherty County ranks 409 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 710 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Dougherty County, Georgia covers 328.645 square miles and counts roughly 82,418 residents.
Your street may differ from Dougherty County's average
827 of Dougherty County's 30,205 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Dougherty 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.