Is Erie County, OH in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Erie County's flood hazard at the 71.8th percentile nationally — 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 2.1 times a year. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Erie County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Erie 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, 18.3% of them do — 349 active policies against 1,904 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Erie County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
How Erie County compares nationally
Erie County sits at rank 924 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 759 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Erie County, Ohio is home to about 73,841 people across 251.288 square miles of land.
Your street may differ from Erie County's average
FEMA counts 34,152 residential structures in Erie County overall, 414 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 Erie 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.