Gilmer County, WV: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Gilmer County scores at the 39.2th 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 1.6 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
Out of 338 homes FEMA counts inside Gilmer County's mapped flood zone, 33 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 9.8% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 1.3% of all residential structures in Gilmer County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
How Gilmer County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Gilmer County ranks 1977 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2649 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Gilmer County, West Virginia covers 338.503 square miles and counts roughly 7,116 residents.
Checking a specific address in Gilmer County
FEMA counts 3,251 residential structures in Gilmer County overall, 43 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
Where Gilmer 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.