Galveston County, TX: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Galveston County scores at the 93.6th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively High" — well above the national norm for flood hazard. The hazard here is split between inland river flooding (about 2.9 times a year) and coastal storm surge (about 3.8 times a year). This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 43,982 homes FEMA counts inside Galveston County's mapped flood zone, 29,025 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 66% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 42.2% of all residential structures in Galveston County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Galveston County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Galveston County ranks 218 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 210 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 367,407 people live in Galveston County, Texas, spread over 379.413 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Galveston County
52,889 of Galveston County's 125,276 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Galveston County's figures come from
Every figure on this page traces to a named FEMA dataset, documented in the methodology guide. Galveston County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.