Gage County, NE: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Gage County scores at the 32.4th 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 1.1 times a year. 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 Gage 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, 10.6% of them do — 51 active policies against 482 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% of all residential structures in Gage County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Gage County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Gage County ranks 2184 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1738 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 21,687 people live in Gage County, Nebraska, spread over 851.468 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Gage County
FEMA counts 12,918 residential structures in Gage County overall, 56 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Gage 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.