Jackson County, TN: flood risk, in FEMA's own numbers
On FEMA's National Risk Index, Jackson County scores at the 37th percentile for flood hazard, rated "Relatively Low" — below the national norm for flood hazard. 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 1 years. County-wide, not parcel-specific: FEMA's real flood-zone map is queried live, never shipped as a download.
Mandatory flood insurance compliance in Jackson County
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Jackson 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, 5.6% of them do — 8 active policies against 144 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. 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.
How Jackson County compares nationally
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Jackson County ranks 2047 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2264 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. About 12,376 people live in Jackson County, Tennessee, spread over 308.81 square miles.
Your street may differ from Jackson County's average
FEMA counts 6,060 residential structures in Jackson County overall, 14 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
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.