Jackson County, TX flood risk explained
Flood hazard in Jackson County sits at the 55.3th national percentile, below the national norm for flood hazard; split between inland river flooding (about once every 1 years) and coastal storm surge (about 3.7 times a year). 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, 18% of them do — 289 active policies against 1,602 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Looking beyond the mandated zone, 6.5% 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.
Jackson County against the rest of the country
Among the 3144 US counties FEMA scores for flood hazard, Jackson County ranks 1471 — 1 being the highest hazard nationally — and 2074 by population among all 3144 counties covered here, where 1 is the largest. Jackson County, Texas is home to about 15,284 people across 829.443 square miles of land.
What to do next if you own or are buying in Jackson County
470 of Jackson County's 7,222 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. Jackson County's coastal exposure is covered in the coastal vs. inland flood risk guide, including how storm surge risk differs from river flooding.