Is Edgecombe County, NC in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Edgecombe County's flood hazard at the 76.1th percentile nationally — a middling flood hazard by national standards — driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.3 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 Edgecombe County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Edgecombe 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, 32% of them do — 339 active policies against 1,059 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Edgecombe County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 3.5% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Where Edgecombe County ranks
Edgecombe County sits at rank 786 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1021 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 49,124 people live in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, spread over 505.436 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Edgecombe County
FEMA counts 18,982 residential structures in Edgecombe County overall, 663 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Edgecombe County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.