Elmore County, AL: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Elmore County scores at the 80.6th 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 1.5 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Elmore County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 720 homes FEMA counts inside Elmore County's mapped flood zone, 234 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 32.5% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.1% of all residential structures in Elmore County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Elmore County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Elmore County ranks 636 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 665 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Elmore County, Alabama covers 618.52 square miles and counts roughly 91,042 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Elmore County
FEMA counts 28,938 residential structures in Elmore County overall, 311 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Elmore 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.