Jackson County, MI: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Jackson County scores at the 77.1th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Moderate" — a middling flood hazard by national standards. 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 once every 3 years. 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 Jackson County
Out of 1,701 homes FEMA counts inside Jackson County's mapped flood zone, 124 carry the flood policy federal law requires there — 7.3% compliance, short of full coverage. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 0.2% of all residential structures in Jackson County carry flood coverage voluntarily or otherwise — relevant because most NFIP claims nationally come from outside the mapped SFHA.
Where Jackson County ranks
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Jackson County ranks 752 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 437 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 160,233 people live in Jackson County, Michigan, spread over 701.905 square miles.
Checking a specific address in Jackson County
149 of Jackson County's 63,486 residential structures carry flood coverage of some kind, per FEMA's latest count — useful context, not a substitute for checking one parcel.
Where Jackson 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.