Hancock County, TN flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Hancock County sits at the 32.7th national percentile, among the lowest flood hazard in the country; 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.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 283 homes FEMA counts inside Hancock County's mapped flood zone, 13 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 4.6% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.4% of all residential structures in Hancock County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Hancock County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Hancock County ranks 2177 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2657 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Hancock County, Tennessee is home to about 7,038 people across 222.324 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Hancock County
Across all of Hancock County's 4,023 residential structures, 15 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Hancock 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.