Is Fayette County, IA in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Fayette County's flood hazard at the 59.2th 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 1.7 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 Fayette County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Fayette 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, 10.1% of them do — 28 active policies against 276 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Fayette County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 0.4% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Fayette County against the rest of the country
Fayette County sits at rank 1343 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 1873 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Fayette County, Iowa covers 730.817 square miles and counts roughly 19,152 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Fayette County
39 of Fayette County's 10,266 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Fayette 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.