Houston County, MN flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Houston County sits at the 46th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; driven by inland rivers and flash flooding rather than the coast — FEMA's model puts a flood event here at about 1.3 times a year. That's a county-wide figure, not a per-address one — FEMA's parcel maps are a live lookup, not a bulk file.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Houston County
8.7% of the homes FEMA requires to carry flood insurance in Houston County — those inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — actually have a policy in force: 24 policies against 277 mandated structures, which means a meaningful share of legally-required coverage simply isn't there. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.3% of all residential structures in Houston County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Houston County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Houston County ranks 1759 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1913 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 18,352 people live in Houston County, Minnesota, spread over 552.115 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Houston County
38 of Houston County's 11,099 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Houston 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.