How much flood risk does Glades County actually carry?
Glades County lands at the 44.6th percentile of FEMA's National Risk Index for flooding, "Relatively Low" territory — below the national norm for flood hazard — with the hazard driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about once every 2 years. This describes the county, not any one street — FEMA only publishes exact parcel zones through a live map service.
Glades County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Glades 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, 17.5% of them do — 107 active policies against 612 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Glades County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 2.6% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Glades County against the rest of the country
Glades County sits at rank 1804 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2213 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). About 13,132 people live in Glades County, Florida, spread over 806.822 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Glades County
FEMA counts 7,161 residential structures in Glades County overall, 185 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Glades County's numbers. The guide to what the Special Flood Hazard Area actually means explains why the mandatory-insurance rule exists and who it applies to.