Forest County, WI: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Forest County scores at the 20.7th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Very Low" — among the lowest flood hazard in the country. 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 7 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Forest 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, 5.5% of them do — 9 active policies against 164 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.1% of all residential structures in Forest County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Forest County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Forest County ranks 2534 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2450 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 9,506 people live in Forest County, Wisconsin, spread over 1,014.265 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Forest County
10 of Forest County's 7,495 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Forest 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.