Inyo County, CA flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Inyo County sits at the 61.6th 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 5 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.
Who actually carries the flood insurance FEMA requires
Out of 83 homes FEMA counts inside Inyo County's mapped flood zone, 12 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 14.5% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.5% of all residential structures in Inyo County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Inyo County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Inyo County ranks 1261 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 1907 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 18,485 people live in Inyo County, California, spread over 10,197.261 square miles.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Inyo County
Across all of Inyo County's 8,494 residential structures, 43 carry an NFIP policy today — a county-wide count that still can't tell you one address's own mapped zone.
Where Inyo 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.