Franklin County, TN: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Franklin County scores at the 58.3th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. 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 1.3 times a year. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Franklin County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Out of 351 homes FEMA counts inside Franklin County's mapped flood zone, 41 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 11.7% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Franklin County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Franklin County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Franklin County ranks 1372 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1092 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Franklin County, Tennessee covers 554.5 square miles and counts roughly 45,137 residents.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Franklin County
FEMA counts 20,452 residential structures in Franklin County overall, 58 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Franklin 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.