Is Jefferson County, FL in a flood zone?
FEMA's National Risk Index puts Jefferson County's flood hazard at the 39.4th percentile nationally — among the lowest flood hazard in the country — driven by coastal storm surge rather than inland rivers — FEMA's model puts a surge event here at about 3.8 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.
Jefferson County's flood-insurance compliance gap
Homes with a federally backed mortgage inside Jefferson 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, 12.5% of them do — 37 active policies against 297 structures FEMA counts in that zone, leaving a real compliance gap. Across all residential structures in Jefferson County, not just the ones FEMA mandates, 1.2% carry an NFIP policy — most flood damage nationally happens outside the mapped high-risk zone, so that broader number matters too.
Jefferson County against the rest of the country
Jefferson County sits at rank 1967 of 3144 counties on FEMA's flood hazard scale (1 is worst) and rank 2043 of 3144 by population (1 is biggest). Jefferson County, Florida covers 598.079 square miles and counts roughly 15,921 residents.
Your street may differ from Jefferson County's average
FEMA counts 6,317 residential structures in Jefferson County overall, 75 of them carrying some form of NFIP coverage — but a lender or insurer cares about one parcel, not that county total.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly which FEMA and Census tables feed Jefferson County's numbers. Because storm surge plays a real role here, the guide to coastal vs. inland flood hazard is worth reading alongside this page.